Duval,  B.  R 

A  narrative 

of  life  and 

travels  in 

Mexico 

and 

British  Honduras. 

THE  LIBRARY  OF  THE 

UNIVERSITY  OF 

NORTH  CAROLINA 

AT  CHAPEL  HILL 


ENDOWED  BY  THE 

DIALECTIC  AND  PHILANTHROPIC 

SOCIETIES 


UNIVERSITY  OF  N.C.  AT  CHAPEL  HILL 


i  fe    *  Jgff 


I        00016851220 


LIFE  AND   TRAVELS 


ih 


-MEXICO  IM  BB1T1SH  HOfsDOR&S. 

EVi^REV,  B.  R.  DUVAL, 
Late  cftlie  Virginia  Antiu&t  Conference. 

Present  Addre ss — Dispatch,  New  Keet  County^  V». 

FI1LV5 


THIRD.  EDITION. 


;*d 


;iVn 


,.-       BOSTON: 
W.   F.  BROWN  &  CO.,  Printers, 
ai8  Franklin  Street,    H  . 

.-.     -    .'18  8.!.'   -\''M, 


•-: "  "  -.         ■  ■*''.'  •    ■■:..  1 


DEPARTMENT  of  MIDDLE  AMERICAN  RESEARCH 

TTIHE  TfULANE  UNOVERSDTYof  LOUOSDANA 
NEW  OHJQ.IEANS 


\    NARRATIVE 


-\ 


LI FE.  AN\D  TRAVELS 


in 


MEXICO  AND  BRITISH  HONDURAS. 

BY  REV.  E.  R.  D^UVAL, 
Late  of  the  Virginia  Annual  Conference. 

Present  Address— Dispatch,  New  Kent  County,  Vs. 

THIRD    EDITION. 


BOSTON: 
W.    F.    Bro vf N    &   Company,    Printer s, 

Xo.  :iS  Frar.klm  Stre-t. 


PREFACE. 


It  has  frequently  been  suggested  to  me  that 
I  .ought  to  write  an  account  of  my  trip  to 
the  countries  from  which  I  have  just  returned, 
as  a  means  of  making  something  for  the 
support  of  my  family,  as  well  as  affording 
useful  information  concerning  those  beautiful 
lands ;  and  I  now  undertake  to  comply  with 
those  suggestions. 

But,  as  I  can  spare  very  little  time,  I  shall 
simply  aim  to  relate  such  things  as  I  would 
tell  in  a  social  circle,  and  in  the  same  style  ; 
hoping  that  some  good  may  be  done,  as  the 
readers  shall  see  the  great  religious  privileges 
they   enjoy,   compared    with    the  people    of 


Mexico,  and  their  consequent  obligations  to 
God  for  a  free  Bible  in  our  native  tongue. 

I  am  sorry  that  my  want  of  means  causes 
the  price  to  be  higher  than  it  otherwise  would 

be. 

B.  R.  DUVAL. 
Baltimore,  April,  1879. 


A  NARRATIVE 

OP 

LIFE  AND  TRAVELS 

MEXICO  AND  BRITISH  HONDURAS. 


On  the  first  of  December,  1864, 1  was  living  about 
twenty  miles  south  of  Petersburg,  Virginia,  near 
Stony  Creek  Depot,  sawing  lumber  and  grinding 
corn,  at  a  large  steam  mill ;  but  before  night  nearly 
everything  I  had  was  stolen,  or  burned  up,  and  in 
a  few  hours  I  was  reduced  from  a  comfortable  inde- 
pendence to  real  destitution.  But  I  did  not  repine, 
but  exerted  myself  to  the  utmost,  to  support  my 
family  and  pay  my  debts ;  and  soon  after  the  Sur- 
render, I  went  to  work  and  fixed  up  the  saw  mill, 
and  hoped  that  at  current  rates,  I  might  yet  be  able 
to  saw  lumber  enough  to  pay  out.  Bat  lumber  soon 
iell  to  a  price. not  sufficient  to  pay  expenses;  and 
as  soon  as  I  saw  this,  I  went  to  a  most  honorable 
lawyer,  and  asked  him  to  make  a  deed  of  the 
most  equitable  character,  and  sell  me. out*  for  the 


benefit  of  my  creditors.  This  was  done,  and  we 
received  only  tho  allowance  made  by  law  to  in- 
solvent debtors. 

This  was  in  May,  1866,  and  I  was  at  a  loss  to 
know  what  to  do.  I  could  hear  of  no  place  where 
I  could  be  supported,  as  a  preacher,  and  my  presid- 
ing elder  told  me  that  he  knew  not  what  to  advise. 
as  the  times  were  such  that  he  hardly  knew  how  to 
advise  himself. 

About  this  time,  I  had  seen  accounts  in  the 
papers  of  a  settlement  of  Southern  people  in  Mexico, 
under  the  auspices  of  such  men  as  Captain  Maury, 
General  Price,  and  others  of  high  character ;  and 
these  accounts  stated  that  the  whole  number 
amounted  to  5,000.  From  one  of  these  publications 
I  inferred  that  there  was  no  Methodist  ■  preacher 
among  them,  and  1  felt  that  there  was  the  place  for 
me,  if  I  could  get  there;  and  it  ..certainly  seemed 
providential,  when  I  found  a  friend  who  would 
advance  me  the  necessary  amount.  My  deliberate 
judgment,  formed  after  much  earnest  prayer  and 
the  cheerful  concurrence  of  my  family,  then  was, 
that  it  was  my  duty  to  go  to  Mexico,  and  my  hope 
was  that  I  could  support  my  family  by  working  as 
a  surveyor,  for  which  I  had  prepared  myself,  and 
preach  gratuitously  to  ray  countrymen  till  I  could 
organize* 


Accordingly,  on  the  22nd  day  of  May,  I  started 
from  Petersburg,  with  Mrs.  Duval  and  three 
daughters  and  a  son,  for  New  York,  to  take  passage 
by  steamer  Manhattan,  for  Yera  Cruz,  by  Havana. 

The  weather  was  very  pleasant,  and  soon  after 
getting  in  the  Gulf  stream,  we  saw  a  beautiful 
phenomenon,  of  which  I  had  never  heard.  It  was 
late  in  the  afternoon,  and  the  atmosphere  was  misty, 
and  there  appeared  over  a  great  part  of  the  sky 
hundreds  of  rings  just  the  size  of  the  sun,  very 
bright,  and  clearly  defined.  The  sight  was  very  novel 
and  beautiful,  and  the  surgeon  of  the  ship  told  us 
that  he  had  only  seen  it  a  few  times,  and  then  only 
in  the  Gulf  stream. 

I  was  very  much  pleased  to  see  the  children  so 
much  interested  in  looking  at  the  flying  fish,  the 
nautilus,  the  beautiful  dolphins,  with  their  colors 
changing  like  chameleon,  the  sea  birds,  and  other 
things  seen  only  on  the  ocean. 

There  were  several  very  agreeable  travelers  on 
board,  and  one  of  them  was  especially  kind  to  us. 
He  was  a  Spaniard,  who  had  a  large  wholesale 
house  in  New  York,  and  was  going  to  Havana. 
Having  heard  opr  history,  he  feared  that  we  should 
have  hard  times  in  Mexico,  and  having  seen  that 
we  had  four  children,  corresponding  Inage  and  eei 
with   his   four   children,  that  he  had j left  in  great 


8 

comfort  at  his  country  seat  near  New  York,  he  showed 
our  children  the  four  buttons  on  his  wristbands, 
which  contained  the  likenesses  of  his  children,  and 
wept  bitterly,  saying,  that  he  felt  very  much  for  us 
After  awhile  he  told  me  that  before  he  reached  Ha 
vana  he  would  give  me  aietter  to  a  friend  in  Vers 
Cruz,  which  he  knew  would  do  me  good.  And  indeed 
it  did,  for  it  contained  an  order  for  fifty  dollars  ii 
gold.  As  he  was  about  to  leave  the  ship,  in  Havana 
he  shook  hands  with  me  and  Mrs.  Duval,  most  eor- 
dially,  and  kissed  all  the  children,  as  affectionately 
as  if  they  were  his  own,  and  was  too  much  affected 
to  speak. 

This  kind-hearted  man,  and  several  others  of  his 
nation,  have  satisfied  me  that  there  are  many  who 
are  not  protestants  whose  actions  look  more  like  the 
Christianity  of  tne  New  Testament  than  the  actions 
af  many  who  boast  of  their  evangelical  faith. 

The  time  of  our  stay  in  the  beautiful  harbor  01 
Havana  was  too  short  to  give  us  a  chance  to  see 
much  of  this  famous  city,  but  the  church  in  whicfc 
the  remains  of  Columbus  are  deposited  was  pointed 
out  to  us,  and  awakened  peculiar  thoughts  in  oiu 
minds,  What  wonderful  results  have  followed  froir 
the  enterprise  of  that  great  man  !  And  how  differeni 
would  nave  been  thehistory  of  theworld,if  Colnmbui 
^^  <y^jS|e?ei  land  twenty  degrees  further  north. 


We  reached  Vera  Cruz  at  night,  after  a  passage 
of  four  days  from  Havana,  and  anchored  near  the 
famous  castle  of  San  Juan  D'Ulloa.  Next  mornino 
we  entered  the  renowned  city  of  Yera  Cruz,  a  walled 
city  of  about  10,000  inhabitants.  We  were  struck 
with  the  great  politeness  of  the  people  of  all  classes, 
and  especially  of  the  officers  of  the  custom  house. 
Arrangements  had  been  made  by  the  government 
for  the  encouragement  of  persons  coming  into 
Mexico  to  settle,  and  our  railroad  fare  was  only 
one-fourth  of  the  usual  rates. 

The  weather  was  extremely  hot,  and  the  yellow  fe- 
ver had  just  commenced  its  annual  work,  and  we  hur- 
ried up  the  country  next  morning  on  the  imperial  rail- 
way. This  great  railway  is  the  work  of  an  English 
company,  and  is  intended  to  connect  the  city  ot 
Mexico  with  Yera  Cruz,  about  two  hundred  and 
fifty  miles  off,  but  was  only  complete  forty-seven 
miles  to  the  first  mountains,  and  has  a  very  good 
grade,  over  ground  at  first  low  and  swampy,  then 
6andy  and  somewhat  rocky,  but  all  very  barren. 

One  coach  was  filled  with  Nubian  soldiers,  with 
their  rifles,  and  a  small  brass  howitzer  on  each  side, 
fixed  on  a  pivot  at  a  window.  These  are  very  good 
soldiers,  of  warlike  Mahometan  tribes,  of  upper 
Egypt,  and  have  been  famous  in  Napoleon's  wars 
in  the  Crimea,  and  in  Lombardy. .    They  are  verv 


10 

black,  but  very  tall,  and  very  different  in  appear- 
ance and  character  from  the  African  race  in  the 
Southern  States.  They  always  attend  the  trains, 
especially  to  guard  great  quantities  of  silver,  sent 
down  from  the  city  of  Mexico  to  Yera  Cruz,  on  the 
way  to  Europe. 

In  about  thru  i  hours,  we  reached  the  terminus 
ef  the  railroad,  an!  took  an  ambulance  for  Cordova, 
where  we  arrived  before  night.  We  were  then  75 
miles  from  the  cosst,  and  in  full  view  of  the  peaks 
of  Orizaba,  which  is  17,400  feet  above  the  level  of 
the  sea,  and  is  always  covered  with  snow,  to  the 
amount  of  about  500  acres,  cooling  the  air,  very 
perceptibly,  for  fifteen  miles  around. 

On  the  Sunday  after  reaching  Cordova.  I  called 
on  the  alcade,  or  mayor,  and  told  him  that  I  wished 
to- preach  that  afternoon  at  the  Confederate  hotel, 
according  to  invitation.  He  said,  " Yery  well,  you 
have  perfect  liberty,  according  to  the  decree  of  the 
Emperor  Maximilian."  I  told  him  that  I  was 
aware  of  that,  but  that  I  wished  to  pay  my  respects 
to  him,  and  let  him  know  my  purpose.  Accordingly 
I  preached  at  the  appointed  hour,  and  kept  it  up 
during  the  three  months  that  we  lyrgd  in  Cordova. 
However,  none  but  Americans  attended,  as  the 
mass  of  the  people  are  Roman  Catholics. 


11 

At  this  time,  there  was  great  anxiety  in  Cordova, 
on  account  of  about  thirty  Americans  who  had  settled 
below  General  Price's  colony,andhad  been  captured 
and  carried  off  prisoners  by  a  band  of  Liberals,  as 
they  were  called,  and  who  were  opposed  to  Maxi- 
milian. The  Liberals  made  heavy  charges  against 
the  Americans,  and,  no  doubt,  some  of  the  Ameri- 
cans were  guilty  ;  but  after  a  few  weeks  nearly  all 
the  Americans  returned,  having  escaped  or  been 
released ;  and  then  they  tried  to  get  Maximilian  to 
indemnify  them  for  all  their  losses ;  and  having 
failed  in  this,  they  commenced  trying  to  get  back 
to  the  States. 

'The  approach  of  the  rainy  season,  together  with 
the  uncertainty  of  Maximilian's  continuance  in 
power,  caused  the  work  on  the  railroad  to  be  sus- 
pended, and  I  could  find  nothing  to  do,  till  I  got  a 
small  wagon  and  a  pair  of  mules  for  a  piano  which 
had  been  given  one  of  our  daughters,  and  which 
she  wished  to  sell. 

"With  this  wa^on  I  hauled  freight  from  the  Depot 
to  Cordova,  25  miles,  and  to  Orizaba,  40  miles,  and 
thus  1  made  out  for  awhile,  till  the  roads  became  so 
bad  that  the  mules  got  stuck  in  the  mud,  so  that 
I  had  to  pay  $i:50  to  be  hauled  out  of  a  mudhole, 
and  after  going  about  100  yards,  I  Btuck  again, 
a^d  had  to  pay  $2.00  more.  I  :w 


12 

It  was  then  getting  very  sickly  at  Cordova,  while 
it  was  very  healthy  in  Orizaba,  and  we  removed  to 
Orizaba,  which  is  a  very  beantiful  place  of  about 
20,000  inhabitants.  Here  we  were  very  pleasantly 
situated,  the  climate  being  delightful,  and  cool 
enough  for  a  blanket  every  night.  The  market 
was  very  well  supplied  with  meats  and  vegetables, 
at  fair  prices.  The  onions  were  the  finest  I  have 
ever  seen.  Green  corn  could  be  had  a  great  part 
of  the  year,  and  the  quantity  and  variety  of  vege- 
tables were  very  great.  But  the  fruits  exceeded 
the  vegetables.  Oranges  were  very  abundant  and 
delicious,  and  I  could  get  choice  ones  for  12£  cents 
a  hundred.  Pineapples  also  were  very  abundant, 
;nd  at  Cordova  I  bought  choice  ones  for  two  cents 
dach,  and  sometimes  one  cent  each,  perfectly  ripe 
and  delicious.  The  fruits  were  too  numerous  for 
me  to  learn  all  their  names. 

But  at  Orizaba,  as  at  Cordova,  I  could  find  but 
little  to  do,  and  we  had  hard  work  to  live.  I  got 
6ome  hauling  to  do,  but  not  enough  to  feed  us. 
•  One  morning,  Mrs.  Duval  told  me  that  we  had 
nothing  to  eat,  and  no  money,  and  asked  what  we 
should  do,  I  said  that  I  did  notinow,  bat  that 
there  was  time  enough  yet  for  theiravens  to  come 
before  breal^at,  and  that  I  would  do  all  I  could 
and  trust   to  pProvidence,  as  we  had  done  so  often 


13 

before.  I  then  took  my  ease  of  surveying  instru 
ments,  and  started  out  to  find  a  Texan,  who  could 
talk  Spanish  better  than  I  could,  to  get  him  to  pawn 
the  instruments  for  6ome  money.  I  went  into  the 
street,  and  turned  up,  and  less  than  thirty  steps,  I 
met  my  Texan  friend,  and  asked  him  if  he  could 
raise  me  some  money  on  the  case  of  instruments  ; 
and  he  said  "ves."  I  asked  him  when  ;  and  he 
said  "some  time  to-day."  "But,"  said  I,  "we  have 
no  breakfast,  and  I  need  money  noio.  Can't  you 
lend  me  a  dollar  ?"  "Yes,"  says  he,  handing  me 
out  two  half  dollars.  I  turned  immediately  round 
and  went  home.  On  meeting  my  wife  at  the 
kitchen  door,  I  said,  "Agnes,  the  ravens  have  come 
already  ;"  and  having  called  two  of  the  children,  I 
sent  one  for  beef,  and  the  other  for  bread,  and  in 
due  time  we  had  a  good  breakfast. 

In  one  of  my  trips,  I  went  over  the  great  moun- 
tains that  enclose  the  high  table  lands  of  Puebla, 
and  it  took  about  half  a  day  to  reach  the  top  of  the 
ridge,  where  the  road  crosses.  The  elevation  was 
about  9  or  10,000  feet,  and  the  climate  very  cool, 
requiring  two  or  three  blankets  at  night.  After 
descending  a  little,  I  came  to  a  great  valley,  inter- 
sected at  rigKtfangles  by  another  large  valley.,  and 
near  the  intersection  wore  the  ^buildings  of  a 
great    estate,  employing    about  300  laboring  men 


14 

Indian  corn  was  the  principal  crop,  and  I  think  I 
saw  more  corn  at  one  view,  than  I  have  ever  seen 
elsewhere. 

This  corn  was  very  good  indeed,  and  I  shonld 
think,  from  a  view  that  I  had  of  the  field,  from  the 
side  of  the  mountain,  that  the  corn  field  in  the  long 
valley  must  have  been  seven  or  eight  miles  long, 
and  nearly  two  miles  wide,  besides  the  short~valle5 , 
which  was  richer  land,  and,  I  should  think,  con- 
tained at  least  1,000  acres.  What  can  be  done 
with  all  this  corn,  one  may  ask. 

The  toll-gate  keepers  at  Orizaba  report  that,  on 
an  average,  800  mules  pass  every  day  in  the  year. 
The  corn  raised  on  the  great  estate  of  Esperanza, 
can  only  furnish  a  small  part  of,, the  amount  required 
fdr  these  mules,  and  it  is  the  lowest  down  the  road 
of  all  the  great  corn  plantations.  The  manager 
told  me  that  he  paid  the  300  Indians  37£  cents  a 
day  for  each  day's  work,  and  that  with  this  money 
they  had  to  buy  food,  clothing  and  everthing  for 
themselves  and  their  families.  I  supposed  the 
profits  on  sales  to  the  Indians  must  be  100  per  cent., 
and  then  I  should  call  the  labor  cheap. 

In  this  valley  I  saw  the  plant  called  maguey, 
from  which  the  Mexican  drink  cattea  pulqut  is 
made.  The  plants  are  about  six  feet  apart,  and 
when  about  four  years  old,  a  flowering  stalk  begins 


15 

to  shoot  up,  and  soon  after  it  gets  above  the  leaves, 
which  are  eight  or  nine  feet  high,  it  is  cut  ont  about 
one  foot  above  the  ground,  and  a  large  round  hole 
containing  about  two  gallons  is  scooped  out  and 
oecomes  filled  twice  a  day  with  a  thick,  milky  fluid, 
that  oozes  from  the  enormous  leaves.  "Barrels  are 
placed  at  proper  intervals,  to  be  filled  with  thejttiew 
thus  obtained.  At  first  the  pulque  is  sweet,  but 
soou  ferments  like  cider,  and  makes  a  very  nutritious 
and  pleasant  drink,  but  if  allowed  to  ferment  too 
much  it  becomes  intoxicating  ;  and  vast  quantities 
of  it  are  distilled  into  rum,  greatly  to  the  injury  of 
the  Indians,  who  are  very  fond  of  strong  drink.. 

The  plant,  while  furnishing  the  pulque,  is  dying 
all  the  time,  and  in  five  arsix  months  dies  and  soon 
decays,  and  other  plants  then  come  on  so  as  to  keep 
up  the  supply.  The  leaves  of  a  large  plant  are 
about  fifteen  inches  wide,  and  seven  or  eight  inches 
thick  at  the  ground,  and  taper  in  width  and  thick 
ness  to  a  point,  which  is  a  very  stout  and  very  sharp 
spike,  that  is  greatly  dreaded  by  cattle,  and  this  in- 
stinctive dread  leads  to  the  use  of  this  plant  for 
fencing.  Two  rows  of  the  maguey  plant  are  set 
out  five  or  six  ,ieet  apart,  and  when  they  are  only 
one  foot  higb^he  cattle  dread  them  too  much  to 
pass  over  them. 


16 

At  an  elevation  of  five  thousand  feet  these  plant* 
will  grow,  but  they  will  not  come  to  such  maturity 
as  to  make  pulque  until  you  reach  an  elevation  01 
six  or  seven  thousand  feet  On  the  mountains  nine 
or  ten  thousand  feet  high,  they  grow  spontaneously, 
but  are  unproductive. 

The  pulque-  is  much  relished  in  Orizaba,  and  is 
brought  on  the  backs  of  mules,  in  goat  skins,  and 
§old  like  cider. 

The  vast  amount  of  hauling  done  on  the  back? 
of  animals  in  Mexico,  is  a  remarkable  feature  ol 
the  country. 

Pack  saddles  are  fastened  on  the  mules,  very  se- 
curely, and  such  large  mules  as  the  regular  muleteere 
use  are  loaded  with  four  hundred  pounds  each,  twc 
hundred  pounds  on  each  side.  The  bales  of  cotton 
sent  up  from  Vera  Cruz  weigh  two  hundred  pound; 
each,  and  one  bale  is  put  on  each  side  of  the  mule. 
Four  boxes  of  wine  or  brandy,  one  dozen  to  the 
box,  are  also  put  on  each  side  of  a  mule  for  a  load, 
and  other  things  in  proportion. 

I  have  seen,  many  a  time,  one  hundred  or  more 
of  these  mules  in  a  drove,  led  by  a  mare,  partly 
white  and  partly  black  or  red,  with  or  without  her 
colt.  About  two  o'clock  the.  drove  stops  for  the 
day,  and  thejnare  takes  her  place  at  the  end  of  the 
line,  as  direct ■  l&yjjie  drivers.   The  mmles  all  form 


17 

in  line,  as  soldiers,  and  the  packs  are  taken  off  and 
put  just  opposite  the  mules,  and  then  the  saddles, 
and  now  when  all  the  mules  are  stripped,  a  pop  of 
the  driver's  whip  gives  the  signal  to  the  mare  and 
she  trots  into  the  river  or  creek,  and  while  they  are 
drinking  a  long  cloth  is  stretched  out  for  a  trough, 
and  supported  by  forks  and  Jong  ropes,  with  their 
ends  pinned  to  the  ground  by  stout  iron  pins,  and 
this  trough  is  then  filled  with  cut-np  wheat  or  barley 
straw  and  corn  poured  all  over  it  When  the  mules 
have  done  drinking,  the  driver's  whip  i  ops  the  sig- 
nal to  the  mare  and  she  leads  the  mules  to  dinner. 
Two  hours  before  day  the  mules  are  fed  again,  and 
at  daybreak  they  are  led  to  water,  and  then  to  their 
places  in  line,  each  one  opposite  his  own  pack.  If 
any  one  has  been  careless  and  taken  the  wrong  place, 
the  driver's  whip  reminds  him  of  his  error,  and  he 
hastens  to  his  proper  position.  They  are  then 
saddled  and  loaded,  and  the  mare,  with  her  little 
tinkling  bell,  leads  the  way. 

If  a  contractor  engages  to  do  a  certain  job  of 
masonry,  he  employs  the  owner  of  a  drove  of  don- 
keys to  haul  the  stone,  the  sand,  and  the  water,  and 
all  are  hauledjon  the  backs  of  the  donkeys,  and  in 
many  cases  it -^better  than  to  haul  in  ox-carts  or 
wagons,  for  the  mountains  where  the  lime  and  stone 
are  found  are  too  steep  and  rocky  for  logons,  and 


18 

the  banks  of  the  rivers  or  creeks  are  also  too  steep 
for  any  sort  of  vehicles. 

And  even  planks  are-hauled  from  the  mountains 
on  the  backs  of  mules,  one  end  being  secured  to  the 
pack  saddles  and  the  other  dragging  on  the  ground. 
Large  timbers  cut  and  hewn  in  the  mountains  are 
dragged  down  by  oxen. 

The  great  wagon  trains,  that  haul  he^vy  machin- 
ery,  have  twenty-two  mules  each  to  a  wagon,  and  a 
very  large  washer  is  put  on  each  end  of  each  front 
axle.  A  very  strong  hook  is  attached  to  each 
washer,  and  when  the  twenty-two  mules  cannot 
pull  the  wagon,  a  string  of  twenty  mules  from  the 
second  wagon  is  attached  to  one  axle ;  and  if  the 
forty  two  mules  cannot  pull  the  wagon,  another 
string  of  twenty  mules  (four  abreast,  as  all  are,)  is 
attached ;  and  if  they  are  not  enough,  more  are 
attached,  until,  sometimes,  122  mules  are  pulling 
at  one  wagon. 

1  have  seen  sixty-two,  myself,  but  as  they  suc- 
ceeded, the  other  sixty  were  not  attached  through 
the  train  consisted  of  twenty-five  wagons,  of  twenty- 
two  mules  each.  The  mules  are  always  four  abreast, 
except  the  trains  that  carry  silver,  in  which  they  are 
always  two  abreast,  and  twelve  to  "each  wagon.  *  I 
have  6een  thifllSgsix  of  these  specie  wagons  in  front 
of  my  door  at  once,  twelve  mules  to  each,  and  all 


19 

loaded  with   nothing   but   Mexican   dollars;    and 
escorted  by  a  strong  body  of  French  soldiers. 

These  French  soldiers  were  quartered  near  us,  in 
both  Cordova  and  Orizaba,  and  we  saw  a  good 
deal  cf  them  on  the  road,  having  met  them  fre- 
quently; and  we  heard  our  countrymen,  who  had 
known  them  for  years,  speak  of  them,  and  from  all 
I  have  seen  and  heard,  I  regard  them  as  very 
superior  troops.  In  camp  they  were  very  quiet  and 
well  behaved,and  we  were  pleased  to  have  them  near 
us ;  and  their  politeness  to  us,  on  meeting' them  in 
the  road,  was  remarkable,  the  highest  officers  salut- 
ing a  poor  American  in  his  wagon,  as  if  he  were  an 
officer  of  distinction.  And  their  courage  in  battle 
was  really  marvellous. 

At  the  fort  that  overlooks  the  city  of  Orizaba,  a 
captain  greatly  distinguishe  1  himself  by  scaling  the 
mountain  side,  where  scarcely  a  goat  could  climb, 
and  capturing  the  fort, full  of  Mexicans,  and  routing 
a  whole  army  of  reserves  of  about  2,000  men. 

Another  captain,  holding  a  station  on  the  rail- 
road, about  thirty  miles  from  Vera  Cruz,  fought 
from  sunrise  to  sunset,  till  his  ammunition  was  ex- 
hausted and  he  and  every  one  of  his  men  were 
killed.  The  dnimmer,  an  Italian,  recovered  from 
his  seventeen  wounds,  bur  all  the  sixty^two  French- 
men were  left  dead  on  the  field  where  thevtbucrht. 


20 

without  any  sort  of  protection.     The  Mexicans  lost 
about  400  out  of  their  3,500  cavalry. 

As  the  train  stopped  I  got  out  and  looked  at  the 
graves  where  they  are  all  buried  together,  which 
was  surrounded  by  an  iron  railing  and  marked  by 
a  wooden  cross,  inscribed  with  date,  names  of  officers 
and  number  of  men  who  fell  in  this  remarkable  en- 
gagement. This  inscription  I  read,  but  did  not 
have  time  to  copy. 

The  next  day  these  Mexicans  attacked  the  next 
station,  ten  miles  off,  and  were  repulsed  bv  a  com- 
pany of  Nubian  Zouaves,  who  were  ready  to  fight 
to  the  last,  as  their  comrades  had  done. 

"While  I  was  in  Mexico,  the  Imperialists  and 
Liberals  had  a  fight  near  Matamoras,  and  an  Ameri- 
can who  was  in  the  battle  told  me  that  as  soon  as 
the  Imperialists  were  attacked  they  went  over  to 
the  Liberals,  or  surrendered,  except  the  French, who 
consisted  of  one  company,  and  they  cut  their  way 
out,  and  the  Liberals  thought  it  prudent  to  let  them 
go  in  peace — and  I  think  that  was  a  wise  conclusion. 

But  now  General  Castelneau,  Napoleon's  envoy, 
came  to  see  Maximilian  and  Marshal  Bazaine,  the 
commander  of  the  French  troop  s,jiidwe  soon  learned 
that  the  French  troops  would  return  to  France ; 
and  when  wejjB&w  them  going  through  Orizaba,  t<> 
nix,  wtamggan    to    think    that  the  reign  of 


21 

Maximilian  was  very  near  it3  end;  and  when  he 
himself  arrived,  on  his  way  to  Europe,  as  we  heard, 
we  could  doubt  no  more.  I  saw  him  riding  out 
daily  for  a  week  or  two,  and  thought  he  would  get 
off  before  we  could ;  but  as  all  our  countrymen  were 
preparing  to  go  away,  and  our  principal  friends, 
particularly  General  Hindman  and  his  family, 
urged  us  to  hasten  away,  and  gave  all  the  help  they 
r  could  afford,  we  started  off  also. 

We  stopped  in  Cordova  the  first  night,  and  saw 
General  Price  and  family,  and  we  felt  very  sorry  to 
leave  such  noble  and  kind-hearted  friends. 

The  next  morning  we  left  Cordova  before  day, 
ana  a  little  before  sunrise  we  looked  back  and  saw 
the  snow  on  the  summit  of  Mount  Orizaba  as  deep 
crimson  as  the  clouds  in  the  east.  As  the  sun  rose 
the  color  of  the  snow  faded,  just  as  the  clouds  faded, 
till  the  snow  assumed  its  usual  dazzling  whiteness. 
It  was  a  grand  sight.  Five  hundred  acres  of  crim- 
scn  snow  more  than  three  miles  high  ! 

Soon  after  breakfast  we  came  to  Mr.  Fink's  coffee 
plantation,  of  one  hundred  acres.  I  learned  from 
him  that  the  annual  yield  of  coffee  is  from  one 
thousand  to  twelve  hundred  pounds  an  acre,  and 
that  atth«  lowest-estimate,  allowing  three  cents  a 
pound  for  expense  of  cultivation,  packing,  husking, 
&c-  and  thirteen  cenU  a  pound  ibr  the  caeli^price 


22 

at  his  dorr,  there  is  a  clear  profit  of  ten  ceDt  a 
pound,  or  one  hundred  dollars  an  acre. 

The  coffee  berry  is  very  much  like  the  black-heart 
cherry,  but  with  scarcely  any  stem,  each  berry  con- 
taining two  grains.  The  berries  are  planted  whole, 
in  ground  well  worked  up,  and  a  scaffold  about 
three  feet  high  is  made  over  the  bed,  and  covered 
with  large  leaves,  so  as  to  protect  the  young  plants 
from  the  sun  until  they  are  two  to  three  feet  high, 
when  they  are  set  out  in  rows  eight  feet  one  way 
snd  nine  the  other,  and  kept  free  from  bushes,  weeds, 
&c,  antil  they  are  three  or  four  feet  high.  They 
are  then  cut  down  with  a  sharp  knife,  about  six 
inches  from  the  ground,  and  four  to  five  sprouts 
spring  up  aiound  the  little  stumps,  and  are  allowed 
to  grow  about  five  feet  high,  when  the  tops  are  cut 
off  to  keep  the  trees  from  growing  too  high. 

The  next  spring  these  beautiful  bushes  will  be 
covered  with  very  fragrant  white  flowers  that  per« 
fume  the  whole  atmosphere,  and  these  are  soon  fol- 
lowed by  green  berries,  that  soon  become  pink,  and 
then  deep  purple,  and  then  they  are  ready  for 
gathering.  They  are  then  dried  in  the  sun,  daily, 
until  dry  enough  to  put  away  without  danger  of 
moulding,  and  in  the  following  march,  when  the 
weather^fiMerv  hot  and  dry,  they  are  .  dried 
thron^My  atid beaten  in  a  trong-h   -rmtil    tlie  grain? 


23 

are  separated  from  the  husk,  and  after  being  win- 
nowed and  picked  over,  they  are  ready  for  market. 
This  is  the  Mexican  way  of  preparing  the  coffee 
berries. 

The  Brazilian  way  is  said  to  be  quite  different 
There  they  strip  off  the  berries  from  the  twigs,  the 
unripe  as  well  as  the  ripe,  and  soak  and  work  them 
up  in  water  until  the  pulp  3s  washed  from  the  grains, 
and  then  the  grains  are  dried  tillready  for  the  bags, 

In  some  places  where  the  heat  is  very  great,  the 
woods  are  trimmed  out,  so  as  to  leave  only  enough 
trees  to  shade  the  coffee  bushes,  and  the  coffee  planta 
are  set  out  so  as  to  have  the  benefit  of  the  shade. 
This  was  the  case  with  Mr.  Fink's  plantation.  In 
other  places,  suitable  trees  for  shade  are  planted 
amongthe  coffee  bushes,  while  in  other  pi  aces,  where 
the  heat  is  less,  the  coffee  needs  no  shade. 

A  coffee  plantation  will  bear  a  fall  crop  in  four 
years  from  the  setting  out  of  the  scions,  and  will 
last  twenty  or  thirty  years.  I  heard  an  old  gentle- 
man say  that  he  knew  one,  in  southern  Mexico,  that 
is  forty  years  old. 

The  chocolate  beans  are  raised  from  trees,  planted 
rn  the  shade,  like  the  coffee  trees:  and  the  profit  of 
raising  them  is  said  to  be  greater;  and  well  made 
chocolate  is  justly  considered  a  great  luxt 


24 

A^out  five  miles  before  we  reached  the  railroad, 
an  axle  of  our  wagon  broke,  and  we  had  to  ask  help 
of  some  French  troops,  who  took  my  family  in  then 
wagons,  and,  with  the  ntmost  kindness  and  polite 
ness,  carried  them  to  the  hotel,  and  tlms  saved  us 
from  spending  a  night  in  the  mountains,  exposed  to 
the  Liberals,  who  were  only  held  in  check  by  theii 
fear  of  the  French. 

A  three  hours'  ride  on  the  railroad  brought  us  to 
Yera  Cruz,  which  is,  in  November,  a  very  pleasant 
place.  The  houses  are  generally  two  stories  high, 
and  the  roofs  are  flat  and  covered  with  a  very  hard 
mortar,  which  turns  water  perfectly.  If  the  street? 
were  bridged,  one  conld  walk  almost  all  over  the 
city  on  the  tops  of  the  houses.  Much  work  is  done 
on  the  house  tops,  and  chickens  and  turkies  are 
raised  as  in  a  yard,  and  in  November  and  the  wintei 
months  no  place  could  be  so  pleasant  for  sleeping 
as  the  housetop. 

The  porters  in  Yera  Cruz  are  a  remarkable  set  of 
men.  They  wear  felt  hats,  with  enormous  brims 
that  reach  over  their  shoulders,  and  I  have  seen 
them  with  three  or  four  hats  on  at  a  time,  so  that 
the  brims  made  a  soft  paddingJgn  the  shoulder, 
which  had  to  sustain  the  weigntSof?  four  hundred 
pound Sj^AHJHMemen  told  me  that  he  knew  a  por 
ter  to^irry  a  box  ,.of  hardware,   weighing  between 


25 

eleven  and  eight  hundred  pounds,  and  I  have.6een 
enough  to  make  me  believe  it.  They  are  more 
Spanish  than  Indian. 

After  I  had  been  in  "Vera  Cruz  a  few  days,  the 
agent  at  the  depot  told  me  that  I  would  have  to 
take  away  my  baggage,  as  they  were  clearing  out 
the  warehouse,  to  make  room  for  Maximilian's  bag- 
gage, which  was  expected  the  next  day.  I  then 
felt  confident  that  he  would  soon  leave  Mexico,  and 
I  was  very  much  surprised  to  learn  that  he  had 
yielded  to  the  entreaties  of  representatives  of  the 
priests  and  property-holders  of  Mexico,  and  returned 
to  the  capital. 

While  I  was  truly  sorry  to  learn  his  subsequent 
fate,  I  was  not  at  all  surprised.  I  saw  and  heard 
enough  to  satisfy  me  that  he  was  one  of  the  most 
kind  hearted  rulers  in  the  world,  and  that  he  had 
most  fully  identified  himself  with  Mexico,  and  that 
according  to  his  ability  he  labored  for  the  good  of 
Mexico.  In  "Vera  Cruz,  Cordova  and  Orizaba, 
where  his  authority  was  supreme,  we  had  better 
order,  better  laws,  more  certain  justice  and  much 
lighter  taxes  than  I  have  any  hope  of  seeing  again 
while  I  live,   .tfjjfc. 

I  think  thaPihe  want  of  political&ability  as  a 
statesman  was  the  one  great  want  of  Maximilian. 
Mirehal  Bazaine  may  have  had  the   abil^jtbut 


26 

Maximilian  would  not  be  advised  by  him.  I  thhik 
that  the  Empress  Carlotta  had  the  ability ,but  though 
she  w  as  the  most  accomplished  princess  of  Europe, 
and  even  beloved  by  Maximilian's  enemies,he  would 
not  take  her  advice. 

Maximilian  was  exceedingly  fond  of  horses,  and 
I  think  that  if  he  had  loved  them  enough  to  confine 
himself  to  them,  and  to  give  her  the  reins  of  the 
people,  while  he  held  the  reins  of  the  horses,  it  would 
have  been  a  wise  distribution  of  power,  and  the 
very  sal  vation  of  Mexico. 

That  the  enemies  of  Maximilian  were  destitute 
of  principle  is  evident  from  their  opposing  the 
claims  of  General  Ortega,  a  white  man  and  a  gen- 
tleman of  literary,  military  and  legal  merit,  and  the 
Chief  Justice  of  Mexico,  and,  as  such,  the  constitu- 
tional President  of  Mexico  until  a  new  election 
should  be  held.  But  they  trampled  on  the  Mexican 
constitution,  and  helped  a  blood-thirsty  half- Indian 
to  usurp  the  office  constitutionally  belonging  to  the 
honored  aud  accomplished  General  Ortega. 

The  mines  of  Mexico  are  wonderful  for  silver 
and  gold.  Three  thousand  mines  have  been  already 
discovered,  but  only  one  hundred  rand  fifty  are 
worked,  anjjjy&ythese  produce  about  $20,000,000  a 
year. 


ST 

A  traveler  in  Mexico  ssys  that  two  poor  Indian 
brothers  lived  in  a  little  town  in  northern  Mexico, 
on  the  borders  of  a  stream,  and  that  one  of  them 
tried  to  buy  a  quart  of  Indian  corn  one  morning,  but 
could  not  get  credit  for  it.  That  night  there  was  a 
great  rain,  and  the  banks  of  the  stream  were  over- 
flowed, 80  that  the  surface  of  the  earth  opposite  the 
town  washed  off.  The  next  morning  the  brothers, 
looking  across  the  swollen  stream,  saw  some  pieces 
of  silver  on  the  bank,  and  swam  over  and  picked  *p 
a  good  deal,  and  laid  claim,  according  to  Mexican 
custom,  to  the  mine  thus  discovered;  and  Uien  they 
had  silver  and  credit  enough. 

During  that  year  the  mine  produced  $2S0,000 
and  the  poor  Indians  did  not  know  what  to  do  with 
it.  They  made  very  little  change  in  their  living, 
as  to  dwelling,  clothing  or  eating,  and  really  had 
no  use  for  so  much  money;  but  one  of  them  filled  a 
bag  with  dollars  on  a  feast  day,  and  called  the 
people  together  and  scattered  the  dollars  among  the 
crowd.  It  was  a  very  novel  amusement  and  vastly 
entertaining  to  the  people,  who  must  have  regarded 
die  poor  Indian  as  a  most  eloquent  actor  and  entitled 
to  hearty  applause.  The  Indian  himself  was  greatly 
delighted  at  the  performance  of  the  people,  and  re- 
peated his  original  performance -.on. subsequent  fes- 
tivals. ,  jjtf9 
merit  of  Middle 


\ 


28 

It  cannot  reasonably  be  expected,  that  Mexico 
should  flourish,  while  the  Christian  Sabbath  is  so 
little  regarded.  On  Sunday  morning,  many  of  the 
people  go  to  the  cathedrals  and  churches,  for  a  little 
while,  but  nearly  all  day  the  stores  are  open,  and 
in  the  cities,  the  afternoons  are  devoted  to  chicken 
fights,  bull  fights,  and  gambling.  Even  the  priests 
are  gamblers.  One  of  them  frequently  passed  our 
door  in  Cordova,  on  Sunday  at  three  o'clock,  going 
to  the  bull  fight,  with  a  fighting  chicken  under  his 
arm,  and  a  bag  of  dollars  in  his  hand. 

And  yet,  it  was  understood  that  these  same  priests 
would  impose  severe  penance  on  any  who  might  be 
known  to  have  read  the  Bible. 

While  we  lived  in  Cordova,  one  Sunday  a  little 
before  dinner,  the  son  of  our  landlord  stopped  at 
our  door,  and  seeing  one  of  our  daughters,  reading 
in  a  New  Testament,  half  English  and  half  Spanish, 
asked  her  what  book  she  was  reading.  She  invited 
him  into  the  room  and  hanied  him  the  book.  After 
he  was  seated  he  opened  the  book  at  the  fourteenth 
chapter  of  the  Gospel  of  John,  "Let  not  your  heart 
be  troubled,"  &c,  and  read  the  Spanish  with  the 
most  intense  interest.  He  was  too  much  absorbed  to 
notice1  anjfejdgg  around  him  for  pearly  an  hour, 
whenjijjis  taother^eeing  him  so  deeply  interested, 
a^e&  him    what,  book  he  was  reading,  but  he  did 


29 

not  hear  her,  till  she  raised  her  voice  and  called  out 
"Francisco,  Francisco,"  when  he  looked  towards 
her,  and  answered.  She  asked  him  "What  hook 
are  you  reading?"  He  said.  ;'It  is  most  beautiful." 
♦'What  is  it?"  she  asked.  He  then  turned  to  the 
title  page,  and  read  the  name,  when  she  immediately 
said,  "You  ought  not  to  read  that  book,  for  if  the 
priest  should  hear  of  it,  he  would  impose  very  heavy 
penance  on  you."  He  replied,  "I  did  not  know  it 
was  wrong  to  read  this  book,  and  you  never  told 
me  it  was  wrong." 

Now,  here  was  a  youth  of  about  twenty,  who  was 
charmed  with  the  first  chapter  he  had  ever  read  in 
the  New  Testament,  while  many  in  our  own  country 
seem  scarcely  to  value  our  great  privileges. 

On  a  trip  I  once  made,  I  bad  an  Indian  driving 
the  wagon,  and  I  took  out  my  Testament  and  read 
the  twenty  fifth  chapter  of  Matthew  to  him,  in 
Spanish,  and  at  its  close,  he  said  it  wes  "beautiful, 
very  beautiful."  I  then  talked  to  him  in  Spanish, 
and  asked  him  how  the  Mexicans  felt  when 
they  died.  .He  said  they  were  very  sad,  but  bore  it 
as  well  as  they  could.  I  asked  him  if  he  ever 
knew  a  Mexicafl||j<Mlie  happy,  and  he  said  he  never 
heard  of  sucn*||Pniing.  I  toIddJMtfitiiat,  in  my 
country,  it  wasoften  the  case  among'  >;  r  >  §9p}e  chat 
the  dying  person  was  eiceedingly  happy,  wiple  .all 


so 

others  in  the  room  were  weeping.  He  was  amazed 
at  it,  and  could  not  understand  how  it  could  be.  I 
asked  him  if  he  was  sure  that  he  loved  God  with 
all  his  heart,  and  was  sure  that  God  loved  him  as 
his  child,  would  he  be  sorry  to  go  to  live  with  God, 
if  God  should  call  him.  He  said,  "No."  I  said,  if 
you  do  not  know  that  God  loves  you,  and  feel  that 
you  love  him  with  all  your  heart,  you  will  be  afraid 
to  die.  But  my  people,  when  they  felt  that  they 
were  sinners,  and  that  God  was  angry  with  them, 
prayed  till  they  felt  that  the  Holy  Spirit  had  come 
into  their  hearts,  to  fill  them  with  joy,  and  make 
then  know  that  God  had  pardoned  all  their  sins,  for 
the  sake  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and  then  they 
loved  God,  so  that  they  were  not  afraid  to  do  their 
duty,  and  were  not  afraid  to  die. 

Miguel  was  astonished  at  all  this ;  and  this  talk 
increased  my  desire  to  be  useful  to  the  Spanish  race, 
winch  has  sent  so  many  martyrs  to  the  Kingdom  of 
Heaven.  I  had  hoped  to  preach,  in  Spanish,  to  tens 
ot  thousands  of  the  Mexicans,  and  to  see  thousands 
of  them  converted,  and  to  hear  hundreds  of  happy 
converts  shouting,  in  old  fashioned  Methodist  style, 
the  highest  praises  of  our  glorioM^edeemer  ;  but 
these  joys  Are  .not  for  me  but  for  some  others,  who 
shall  bear,  the  glad  tidings  of  the  Gospel  to  the 
pie' of  Mexico. 


31 

,  The  religion  of  the  Bible  has  never  prevailed  In 
Mexico,  and  I  cannot  think  that  this  country,  so 
rich  in  minerals,  so  delightful  in  climate,  so  grand  in 
scenery,  with  its  rich  table  lands,  so  elevated  and 
healthy,  will  much  longer  suffer  a  "famine  of  hear- 
ing the  words  of  the  Lord." 

Old  Spain,  as  well  as  New  Spain,  can  now  re 
ceive  the  Gospel  freely,  and  in  both  countries  the 
Bible  circulates  without  authorized  opposition;  and 
the  lands  where  the  Bible  and  its  readers  were 
burned  for  heresy  are  now  receiving  the  morning 
rays  of  the  Sun  of  Bighteousness.  And  who  knows, 
but  in  the  coming  reign  of  the  Messiah,  in  Mexico, 
as  it  was  in  Jerusalem,  "a  great  company  of  the 
priests  may  be  obediant  to  the  faith." 

The  first  steamer  that  left  Yera  Cruz  for  New 
Orleans,  after  our  arrival,  charged  more  than  we 
could  possibly  raise,  and  when  a  New  Orleans 
steamer  unexpectedly  came  to  Yera  Cruz,  with 
freight,  we  were  unable  to  procure  passage  in  her, 
without  pledging  our  baggage  for  our  fare.  At 
last,  the  matter  was  arranged,  and  we  took  passage 
in  the  Alliance,  and  after  a  stormy  voyage,  we  en- 
tered the  Mississippi  just  as  a  furious  norther  set  in, 
and  darkened  the' heavens  over  th&^i^L  As  soon 
as  Tie  reached  New  Orleans,  I  weni'to  the  office  01 
the  Nev?    Orleans    Christian,  Advocate*  w^ere  I 


S3 


learned  that  the  Louisiana  Conference  would  meet 
in  Baton  Rouge  in  about  a  week,  and  I  deter- 
mined to  try  to  get  there. 

I  then  called  on  a  commission  house,  to  which  v] 

I  had  a  letter  from  (general  Hindman,  but  the  gen- 
tleman was  absent  from  the  city,  and  I  could  get 
no  help  towards  getting  my  baggage  released.  I  then 
asked  a  very  accommodating  clerk  in  the  house 
if  there  were  any  Virginia  merchants  in  the  city, 
and  I  asked  to  be  directed  to  them  if  he  knew  any. 
He  kindly  went  with  me  to  several  whose  relations ' 
I  knew,  and  also  to  others  whom  1  knew  nothing 
of;  and  they  kindly-  loaned  me  about  two  hundred 
dollars,  and  I  immediately  settled  with  the  captain, 
and  we  went  on  board  a  river  boat,  on  our  way  to 
Baton  Rouge.  "We  had  a  very  pleasant  trip,  and 
found  a  very  good  home,  and  experienced  great 
kindness  from  our  people  and  preachers  during 
the  Conference. 

Bishop  Payne  presided,  and  very  kindly  intro- 
duced me  to  the  Conference,  as  one  whom  he  had 
known  for  about  twenty  years.  I  stated  my  case 
to  the  Conference,  and  asked  to  have  a  circuit 
assigned  me,  as  1  wished,  abov^|^Lthin^s,  to  be  < 

engaged  nMikft^cthodist  Ministry. 

I  wgj|eu*,  to"  the  Delhi  circuit,  which  had  not 
hAjHi  preacher  for  ye^rjyji&ying  "been  ruined  by 


33 

the  war,  and  repeated  overflows  of  the  Mississippi, 
Our  traveling  expenses  from  Baton  Rouge  came  to 
$70,  and  after  spending  a  month  on  the  circuit,  aad 
preaching  around  at  the  principal  appointments, 
the  brethren  made  an  effort  to  raise  something  for 
my  necessities ;  and  after  trying  out  of  the  church, 
as  well  as  among  the  members,  they  only  raised 
$25.36,  less  than  half  the  traveling  expenses,  foe 
which  one  of  the  brethren  had  bound  himsel£ 

I  saw  that  I  could  not  live  there.  What  should 
I  do  ?  I  thought  that  I  might  make  something  by 
lecturing  on  Mexico,  up  in  Missouri,  or  other 
places,  beginning  at  Memphis;  and  I  started  out, 
hoping  to  make  enough  during  the  winter  to  sup- 
port me  on  the  circuit  the  rest  of  the  year.  When 
I  got  to  Memphis,  I  found  that  no  interest  was  felt 
in  Mexico,  and  the  expenses,  such  as  room-rent, 
lights,  fuel,  taxes,  &c,  would  probably  be  mor-e 
than  the  receipts. 

I  then  thought  I  would  continue  my  trip,  preach- 
ing and  soliciting  help  for  my  circuit  as  a  mission- 
ary field,  as  it  really  was;  and  leaving  some  kind 
friends  in  Memphis,  I  did  myself  the  great  pleasure 
of  calling  on  my  venerable  friend,  and  first  presid- 
ing elder,  Kev.  Moses  Broek,  who  gave  me  my 
license  to  preach  forty-four  years  ago  This  was  a 
memorable  visit.     I  never  can  forget  it.     Butthk 


34 

most  remarkable  man  has,  since  my  visit,  beeft 
taken  to  Lis  reward,  and  it  is  with  the  warmest 
emotion  that  I  hope  to  meet  him,  with  the  rest  at 
the  heroes  of  the  Gospel  warfare,  in  the  weary 
pilgrim's  home. 

In  Jackson,  Tenn.,  I  met  an  old  friend,  Rev. 
Amos  W.  Jones,  president  of  the  Female  College 
at  that  place,  and  had  some  very  happy  meetings 
with  the  brethren.  They  were  very  kind  to  me 
there,  as  also  at  Brownsville,  on  the  way  to  St. 
Louis.  The  thermometer  was  below  zero  when  I 
reached  that  city,  and  I  soon  found  my  way  to  the 
hospitable  dwelling  of  my  old  friend,  Rev.  Dr.  WV 
A.  Smith,  where  I  was  most  kindly  received  by  all 
the  family,  who  were  surprised  to  find  me  so  much 
out  of  my  latitude. 

For  several  weeks  I  attended  meetings  at  the 
Centenary  church,  of  which  Dr.  Smith  was  pastor,, 
and  enjoyed  the  services  very  much.  I  was  in  a 
happy  frame  of  mind  while  in  St.  Louis.  The  re- 
membrance of  former  happy  times,  and  of  recent 
dangers  and  privations,  and  the  considerations  of 
present  want,  and  the  glorious  prospects  of  eternal 
blessedness  so  wrought  upon  me,  that  it  was  one  01 
the  happiest  seasons  of  my  life. 
5  One  night  I  was  going  to  church  through  one  of 
feihe  finest  streets  of  the  city,  and  saw  on  each  side 


35 

brown  stone  mansions  with  marble  steps  and  costly 
windows,  and  all  the  signs  01  wealth,  while  I  was 
shivering  with  cold  because  of  the  threadbare  rai- 
ment I  wore;  and  I  commenced  repeating!:  to 
myself : 

"  No  foot  of  land  do  I  possess, 
No  cottage  in  this  wilderness, 

A  poor  wayfaring  man ; 
I  lodge  awhile  in  tents  below, 
And  gladly  wander  to  and  fro, 

Till  I  ray  Canaan  gain. 

Nothing  on  earth  I  call  my  own. 
A  stranger  to  the  world  nnknown, 

I  all  their  goods  despise ; 
trample  on  their  whole  delight. 
And  seek  a  city  out  of  sight, 

A  city  in  the  skies. 

There  is  my  honse  and  portion  fair, 
My  treasure  and  my  heart  are  there, 

And  my  abiding  home; 
For  me  my  elder  brethren  stay. 
And  angels  beckon  me  away, 

And  Jesus  bids  me  coma. 

1  come,  thy  servant,  Lord,  replies, 
I  come  to  meet  thef ,  in  the  skies, 

And  claim  my  heavenly  rest; 
Now,  let  the  pilgrim's  journey  end. 
Now,  O  my  Saviour,  brother,  friend, 

Receive  me  to  thy  breast." 

My  heart  was  so  transported  with  joy;  at  the  con 
templation  of  these  heavenly  views,  that  I  envied 
■sot  the  owners  of  these  fin©  houses,  bat  felt  titat  I 


36 

would  not  give  my  interest  in  that  "house  not  made 
with  hands  eternal  in  the  heavens,"  for  all  the 
things  of  this  earth. 

I  continued  my  trip  up  the  river  to  Jefferson  City 
sad  Glasgow,  and  preached  Jn  both  places,  and  was 
very  kindly  received  by  the  brethren.  In  Glasgow 
I  found  Bome  of  my  old  acquaintances,  and  felt 
more  like  I  was  in  Old  Virginia  than  anywhere 
else,  and  was  very  liberally  assisted. 

,When  I  returned  to  St.  Louis  I  found  that  I 
eould  not  get  enough  to  support  me  on  my  circuit, 
and  I  tried  to  get  a  circuit  where  I  might  make  out 
the  rest  of  the  year,  though  it  might  be  one 
thousand  miles  from  my  family ;  but  I  could  find 
none.  The  brethren  in  St.  Louis,  and  the  other 
places  named,  have  my  heartfelt  thanks  for  their 
kindness,  and  but  for  their  goodness  we  must  have 
suffered  very  much. 

Having  spent  about  a  month  in  Missouri,  I  went 
down  to  New  Orleans,  and,  at  the  suggestion  of 
Dr.  Keener,  I  went  to  the  dedication  of  the  new 
Methodist  church  in  Houston,  Texas,  and  on  my 
-.return  I  was  delayed  by  high  water,  so  as  to  roiss 
the  boat  to  Delhi. 

This  gave  me  most  unexpectedly  a  spare  week 
in  New  Orleans  ;  and  as  there  was  a  great  deal  of 
93c<^tement  on  the  subject  of  emigration  to  Brazil 


Venezuela,,  and*  British  Honduras,  I  went  around 
and  made  enquiries  about  all  these  places.  Two 
persons  offered  to  pay  my  fare  to  British  Honduras, 
and  one  of  them  offered  me  great  assistance,  if  I 
should  like  the  country  and  determine  to  settle 
there.  When  I  considered  that  in  a  few  months 
the  supplies  I  had  received 'during  my  trips  would 
be  exhausted,  and  that  the  flat  lands  on  the  Missis- 
sippi were  all  under  water,  and  that  there  was  a 
very  poor  chance  of  support  from  a  circuit  now 
more  like  a  lake  than  a  cotton-field,  I  thought  it 
was  my  duty  to  accept  the  offers  of  my  friends,  and 
make  a  trip  to  British  Honduras  to  look  at  the 
country. 

Accordingly,  I  went  up  to  see  my  family,  and 
found  the  country,  with  very  few  exceptions,  navi- 
gable for  large  boats,  and  after  a  few  days'  prepaid 
ation  I  started  to  the  Mississippi  in  a  little  skiff 
made  of  plank,  and  after  two  days'  paddling  over 
the  public  road,  which  we  could  scarcely  touch  with 
our  paddles,  I  reached  the  great  river,  a  distance 
of  forty  miles,  and  took  a  boat  for  New  Orleans. 

After  a  few  more  days  I  started,  in  the  steamer 
Trade  Wmd,  for  British  Honduras,  about  nine 
hundred  miles  from  Kew  Orleans.  About,  twenty 
emigrants  were  on  board,  and  we  had  a  pleasan' 


trip  of  about  six  days,  ending  in  the  harbor  of 
Belize,  the  capital  of  the  colony. 

Belize  is  a  pleasant  town  of  about  seven  thousand 
inhabitants,  of  whom  about  three  hundred  are  Eng- 
lish, Scotch,  Americans  and  other  white  people,  and 
the  rest  are  of  African,  Spanish  and  Indian  raees. 
The  African  race  is  much  the  most  numerous,  and 
nearly  all  the  common  laborers  are  of  that  class. 

Some  of  the  houses  are  very  handsome,  especially 
the  governor's  house,  which  is  built  of  mahogony, 
and  the  Wesleyan  chapel,  which  is  built  of  brick 
and  Mahogany,  with  pine  floors.  This  was  built 
mostly  by  funds  sent  from  England  for  the  use  of 
the  Wesleyan  missionaries,  who  have  a  flourishing 
society  and  mission  school,  nearly  all  of  the  African 
race.  There  are  two  churches  served  by  ministers 
of  the  Church  of  England,  a  Scotch  Presbyterian 
church,  a  Baptist  church,  and  a  Roman  Catholic 
church,  all  very  well  attended. 

Sundays  are  more  rigidly  kept  in  Belize  than  in 
any  other  town  I  ever  knew.  Nothing  but  medi- 
cine  is  sold  on  Sunday.  Even  milk  is  not  allowed 
to  be  sold.  ^sim&p 

There  are  several  very  large  wholesale  stores,  and 
as  the  import  duty  is  only  about  ten  percent,  goods 
are  cheap,  especially  linen,  woolen,  arid  very  light 
summer  goods.      There  is  no  license  charged  for 


89 

selling  anything,  except  a  license  of  $200  a  year  for 
selling  intoxicating  drinks.  There  is  a  revenue  or 
excise  tax  of  one  cent  a  pound  on  sugar  made  and 
usedrin  the  colony,  and  a  similar  tax  of  forty-seven- 
and-a  half  cents  a  gallon  on  all  rum  made  and  used 
in  the  colony. 

These  are  all  the  taxes  I  ever  heard  of  in  Belize. 
Those  who  consider  a  national  debt  a  blessing,  and 
heavy  .taxes  a  luxury,  would  have  great  complaints 
against  British  Honduras." 

The  houses  of  Belize  look  odd  for  want  of  chim- 
neys, a3  the  weather  is  so  warm  that  no  fires  are 
needed,  except  in  the  kitchens. 

The  markets  are  very  well  supplied  with  fish, 
turtles,  lobsters,  clams,  conchs,  &c,  of  good  quality, 
and  very  cheap.  The  vegetables  and  fruits  of  the 
tropics  are  very  plentiful,  though  much  dearer  than 
in '  Mexico,  and  the  butchers'  meats  cannot  be 
praised  for  quality  nor  price. 

Soon  after  reaching  Belize,  I  joined  a  party  of 
Southerners,  and  made  a  trip  up  the  Belize  river, 
at  the  mouth  of  which  Belize  is  situated,  in  a  large 
boat,  called  a  pitpan,  with  an  awning  or  cover, 
sufficient  to  shelter  six  persons  from  the  sun  and 
rain. 

The  pitpan  is  dug  ont  of  a  large  tree,  of  mahogany 
or  Spanish  cedar,  about  forty-eight  feet  long,,  abou 


40 

forty  inches  wide,  and  nearly  flat  on  the  bottom,  and 
about  eighteen  inches  deep  in  the  middle,  but  get- 
ting more  shallow  toward  each  end,  where  the  depth 
k  only  about,  four  inches  and  the  width  about  two 
feet.  The  timber  is  trimmed  off  the  bottom  to  cor- 
respond to  the  depth  of  the  boat,  and  thus  for  about 
four  feet  from,  each  end  it  is  out  of  the  water. 

This  style  of  boat  is  the  best  for  dragging  over 
the  shoals  and  for  steering  rapidly,  so  as  to  shun 
the  rocks  and  trees,  where  the  descent  is  rapid ;  for 
the  steeriDg  is  done  with  paddles  at  both  ends, which 
is  the  only  practicable  way  in  a  narrow  and  swift 
current,  and  especially  a  crooked  one.  < 

vThe  first  seven  miles  we  had  no  banks,  but 
swamps,  and  then  low  banks,  liable  to  overfl.ow? 
and  only  good  for  cocoanuts  and  mangoes,  until  we 
had  gone  twenty  miles,  when  the  banks  became 
higher  and  good  for  pasturage. 

For  the  next  sixty  miles  the  lands  improved,  till 
they  became  suitable  for  corn,  sugar,  and  all  tropical 
fruits.  After  getting  about  eighty  miles  above 
Belize,  all  the  lands  are  very  rich,  and  especially 
suited  to  sugar,  and  all  tropical  products  of  rich 
limestone  soil,  and  on  the  hills  and  mountains 
eoffee  can  be  raised, 

a  In  all  this  region  the  pasturage  is  very  superior, 
and  any  amount  of  cattle  and  hogs  could  be  raised 


41 

J  Abont  one  hundred  and  forty  miles  above  Belize! 
the  northern  and  southern  branches  unite,  and 
about-  three  miles  above  the  fork,  on  the  northern 
branch,  is  the  place  which  I  selected  for  my  home. 

All  the  lands  in  the  regipn,  until  you  go  off  from 
the  rivers  to  the  pine  ridges,  are  exceedingly  rich, 
and  suited  to  sugar  cane  and  coffee;  the  hills  and 
mountains  to  sugar  cane.  These  lands  also  are  well 
suited  to  indigo,  smoking  tobacco,  rice  corn,  and 
all  tropical  fruits  and  vegetables ;  and  cotton  grows 
very  well,  but  the  worms  might  destroy  it-  % 

Nearly  all  this  country  is  covered  with  small 
mountains  and  valleys,  and  well  supplied  with  good 
water  by  the  rivers  and  creeks. 

The  low  grounds,  where  vegetation  is  very  luxu- 
riant, are  very  much  annoyed  by  mosquitoes  and 
other  flies,  but  if  the  space  of  twenty  or  thirty 
acres,  on  some  high  land  or  hill,  is  well  cleared  and 
kept  free  of  everything  except  fruit  trees  and  short 
grass,  the  wind  will  keep  all  such  annoyances  away, 
and  make  your  home  very  pleasant. 

From  sunset  to  sunrise  the  climate  is  most  delight- 
ful, and  towards  day  cool  enough  for  a  blanket,  and 
always  cool  enough,  for  thin  covering,  and  for  a 
hearty  appetite  as  soon  as  you  get  up  in  the 
morning. 


43 

From  all  I  conld  see  and  hear,  I  was  satisfied 
that  this  region  was  very  healthy,  and  it  wouid  be 
a  very  pleasant  home  for  me  if  we  could  have 
enongh  society;  and  with  this  view  I  returned  to 
Belize,  and  made  arrangements  with  Governor 
Austin  and  other  parties  to  furnish  land  oh  long 
credit  and  at  low  rates  to  me' and  as  many  of  my 
countrymen  as  might  settle  about  me. 

By  the  next  steamer  I  returned  to  New  Orleans, 
and  wrote  a  piece  for  the  New  Orleans  Crescent, 
detailing  the  observations  I  had  made  and  offering 
to  answer  such  questions  as  might  be  propounded 
by  persons  feeling  an  interest  in  British  Honduras. 
[  immediately  wrote  to  my  family  to  prepare  to 
come  down  to  New  Orleans,  that  we  might-go  out 
to  Honduras  as  soon  as  we  could  make  the  necessary 
arrangements. 

The  interest  in  Honduras  became  so  great  that  it 
was  called  the  "Honduras  fever,"  and  "Honduras 
on  the  brain."  About  two  hundred  letters  were 
written  to  me  and  duly  answered,  and  many  of  the 
writers  said  most  positively  that  they  would  go  to 
Honduras  as  soon  as  they  conld  sell  their  cotton  and 
wind  up  their  affairs,  and  several  asked  me  to  select 
their  places  near  my  own.  Under)  these  circum- 
Btanees,  L fully  expected  to  have  plenty  of  neighbors 
for  th>  suptjort  of  a  school  and  for  religious  and 


43 

eocial  privileges,  and  by  the  terms  of  my  contract 
with  the  proprietors  of  the  land  I  should  have  been 
remunerated  for  all  the"  land  I  should  have  settled 
up  for  them,  but  not  at  the  expense  of  my  country- 
men. 

When  my  family  arri  ved  in  New  Orleans,  I  waa 
negotiating  for  passage  on  a  sailing  vessel,  as  being 
much  cheaper  than  the  fare  on  the  steamer,  and  wfi 
were  detained  two  weeks,  during  which  we  enjoyed 
the  hospitality  of  a  kind  friend.  The  first  vessel  I 
had  engaged  disappointed  us,  after  taking  some  of 
our  freight  on  board  ;  and  it  .was  well  for  us,  as  she 
had  a  terrible  trip  of  it. 

The  next  one  was  a  very  small  schooner,  of  only 
2i|  tons,  and  after  we  had  put  our  freight  and  bag- 
gage on  board,  and  she  was  ready  to  sail,  the  custom 
house  officers  prohibited  the  captain  from  carrying 
passengers,  as  the  vessel  was  too  small.  But  we  had 
already  put  our  things  on  board,  and  paid  a  part  of 
the  fare.  After  some  consultation,  the  captain  told 
me  to  take  my  family  ten  miles  down  the  river,  and 
have  a  light  on  the  bank,  till  he  should  drop  down 
the  river  and  take  us  on,  about  nine  o'clock  at 
night. 

According!' to-"  this  arrangement,  we  left  New 
Orleans  in.'  an  omnibus,  at  about  four -o'clock,  on 
our  way  to  British  Honduras,  and  stopped: on   the 


MA. 

bank  of  the  river,  and  at  dark  made  a  light  and 
waited  for  the  schooner.  About  nine  o'clock  we 
saw  her  coming,  and  soon  she  came  to  the  shore 
with  a  pretty  hard  thump,  which,  however,  did  no 
harm  to  the  schooner,  but  stirred  up  a  mighty 
quarrel  between  the  captain  and  the  owner  —  the 
latter  having  given  the  order  which  produced  the 
confusion.  The  owner  had  hired  the  captain,  and 
had  come  only  as  a  common  sailor,  and  had  no  right 
to  give  an  order.  Both  were  drinky,  and  the  quar- 
rel soon  came  to  blows,  and  the  powerful  fist  of  the 
owner  soon  bruised  the  eyes  of  the  captain  and 
knocked  out  one  of  his  teeth,  which  he  never  could 
find. 

The  captain  then  took  the  vessel's  papers  and 
jumped  on  shore,  swearing  that  he  would  return  to 
New  Orleans  that  night.  The  owner  then  cooled 
down,  and  begged  the  captain  to  go  on  to  Honduras, 
but  he  vowed  that  he  would  not,  and  soon  he  was 
lost  in  tin'  darkness.  We  wondered  how  this  matter 
would  end,  and  the  cook  and  some  others  went  to 
look  for  the  captain,  but  having  failed  to  find  him, 
we  returned  to  the  schooner  and  fought  mosquitoes 
till  day,  when  the  captain  appeared;  and  told  the 
owner,. that  on  our  account  he  would  go  on.  The 
owner  made  many  acknowledgments  and  promises  of 
«ood  behaviour,  and  we  started  along  down  the  river. 


45 

The  captain  still  feared  that  we  might  be  stopped 
at  the  forts  at  the  mouth  of  the  river,  and  taken 
back  to  New  Orleans.  But  we  passed  out  into  the 
Gulf  safely,  but  passed  into  the  midst  of  a  great 
storm,  which  treated  our  little  schooner  as  a  mere 
plaything  —  like  a  cork  upon  the  waters.  It  was  a 
serious  time,  and  our  vessel  was  in  bad  trim,  having 
a  deck  load  of  plank,  piled  up  so  high  as  to  be  very 
much  in  the  way.  The  captain  6aid  this  plank 
must  be  thrown  overboard,  and  the  beautiful  flood- 
ing plank  was  soon  floating  in  the  Gulf,  'ill  there 
was  a  string  of  it  a  mile  long,  I  suppose. 

But  the  storm  still  continued,  the  waves  pouring 
down  the  hatches,  at  times — for  we  could  not  keep 
them  closed  all  the  time,  and  the  pumps  going.  My 
wife,  though  she  had  been  a  great  deal  at  sea,  and 
once  had  been  for  fifty  days  out  of  sight  of  land, 
said  she  thought  we  would  never  see  land  again. 

But  we  were  all  calm,  and  I  expressed  the  hope 
that  our  prayers  would  be  answered,  and  that  we 
should  escape  this  danger.  I  felt  no  fear  myself 
except  for  my  family.  I  enjoyed  the  presence  of 
my  Saviour,  and  felt  that  heaven  iB  as  near  the 
Gulf  of  Mexico  as  any  other  place.  The  noise  of 
the  roaring  winds,  and  the  plashing  of  the  waves, 
would  have  drowned  the  words'  0/  prayer,  if  we 
,oould  have  assembled  in  one  place.     So  we  had  to 


46 

pray  in  our  hearts,  and  hold  on  to^  anything  suitable 
to  keep  from  rolling  about. 

After  about  two  days,  the  storm  subsided;  and 
now  we  had  another  trouble.  There  was  no  quad- 
rant, sextant,  nor  chronometer  on  board,  and  how 
could  we  navigate,  with  nothing  but  the  compass  ? 
None  on  board  but  myself  ha.d  ever-been  to  Belize, 
and  seen  the  headlands  on  the  way,  and  the  cap- 
tain thought  the  only  safe  chance  was  to  guess  at 
the  direction  of  Cuba,  whose  western  headlands 
several  of  us  had  seen,  and  to  keep  far  enough 
north  to  avoid  getting  on  shoals  in  the  night,  and 
when^we  could  see  the  mountains  of  Cuba,  to  steer 
south,  keeping  the  island  to  +he  east  of  us. 

When  the  day  dawned,  the  mountains  were  in 
fell  view,  and  we  steered  south,  about  six  miles  from 
the  land,  till  to.  our  astonishment  we  found  that  we 
were  sailing  over  rocks,  not  four  feet  from  our  keel. 
And  the  knowledge  that  the  owner  of  the  vessel 
was  a  desperate  pirate  (and  probably  another  one 
on  board  also),  did  not  increase  the  comfort  of  our 
reflections. 

But  our  captain  immediately  took  the  helm,  and 
bore  off  from  the  land;  and  after  about  half  an 
hour  we  were  relieved  of  the  painful  sight  of  rocks 
ne&cthe  keel  of  our  vessel.- 


4? 

About  nine  o'clock  at  night,  we  passed  the  light 
of  Cape  San  Antonio,  and  knew  we  were  in  the 
Garribean  Sea.  The  sea  ran  high,  but  the  wind 
was  steady,  and  sometimes  for  an  hour  at  a  time  all 
hands  went  to  sleep,  having  fastened  the  tiPer  with 
a  rope ;  and  thus  our  little  vessel  navigated  herself. 
The  current  from  the  Garribean  Sea  into  the  Gulf 
of  Mexico  is  always  strong,  and  sometimes  more  so 
than  at  others,  according  to  the  strength  of  the  trade 
winds.  "We  found  it  very  strong,  and  made  but  little 
headway  against  it ;  but  after  a  voyage  of  eleven 
days,  we  started  to  go  through  the  Keys  into  Belize, 
without  a  pilot,  and  got  aground  on  some  soft  mud  5 
but  as  our  vessel  was  so  small,  we  pushed  off  witk 
poles,  and  soon  came  up  with  some  fishermen,  who 
were  nearly  done  fishing,  and  for  a  bucket  of  ship 
biscuit  took  us  into  the  harbor. 

The  next  day  I  rented  a  house  and  moved  into 
it,  and  commenced  fixing  up  a  little  steamboat,  with 
the  assistance  of  1he  governor  and  merchants  of 
Belize,  and  some  of  o»r  countrymen ;  but  not 
having  the  means  necessary  to  make  it  a  success, 
though  I  took  it  nearly  one  hundred  miles  up  the 
river  twice,  it  did  inot  answer  the  purpose,  and  I 
took  my  family  up  to  the  place  I  had.  chosen  in  a 
pitpan,  with  a  cover.  lifcv 


The  current  was  so  strong  that  it  took  us  twelve 
days  to  make  the  trip,  and  we  had  rain  every  day 
bat  one. 

We  fonDd  plenty  of  honses,  such  as  they  were,  at 
enr  new  home :  it  having  been  settled  by  an  enter- 
prising Spaniard,  who  traded  with  the  Indians,  and 
made  ram,  until  his  conduct  excited  the  suspicions 
©f  the  government ;  and  he  then  fled  to  Guatemala, 
where  he  was  detected  in  a  conspiracy  to  rob  and 
murder,  and,  to  prevent  being  executed,  hung 
himself. 

■The  houses,  like  all  others  in  that  wilderness- 
eountry,  are  made  of  posts,  or  forks,  supporting  a 
frame  of  poles,  well  tied  together  with  vines  (found 
abundantly  in  the  woods),  and  covered  with  a  very 
thick  roof  of  bay  leaves  (like  the  palmetto  leaves, 
but  a  great  deal  larger  and  affording  perfect  protec- 
tion against  the  sun  and  rain).  The  walls  are  made 
of  poles,  two  or  three  inches  in  diameter,  tied  to 
horizontal  poles,  which  are  tied  to  the  posts,  and 
the  spaces  of  about  three-fourth  of  an  inch  left 
between  the  poles  for  the  tie-vines,  give  light 
enough,  without  windows.  The  floors  are  of  good 
solid  earth,  and  suit  very  well  for  fire,  in  rainy 
weather,  wherever  you  choose  to  make  it. 
■z  But  floors  of  this  sort  afford  a  nursery  and  dwell- 
ing place  &r  countless  numbers  of  fleas,  as  we 


49 
j 

found  to  our  great  annoyance.     Neither  cold  nor 

hot  water  would  destroy  them,  nor  anything  else 
we  tried ;  bnt  after  we  had  had  four  sheep  staying 
in  the  house,  every  night  for  a  week,  we  found  that 
these  nimble  insects  had  more  than  their  match, 
when  they  got  tangled  in  the  greasy  wool ;  and  our 
regard  for  sheep  has  greatly  increased.  Ihose  who 
have  dogs  and  hogs  in  warm  climates,  ought  to  have 
sheep,  as  an  antidote  for  fleas. 

'  Another  singular  insect  annoyance,  in  Honduras 
as  well  as  Mexico,  is  the  negua,  which  is  very  much 
like  a  small  flea.  It  burrows  under  the  toe-naila 
and  finger  nails,  causing  great  itching;  and  in 
about  twenty -four  hours  a  little  sack  is  formed,  fall 
of  eggs,  and  if  then  picked  out  with  a  needle  the  itch- 
ing soon  ceases  and  the  little  sore  is  soon  cured;  but 
if  neglected  for  several  days,  it  makes  a  very  disa- 
greeable sore,  especially  in  young  children,  who  are 
very  restless  while  you  are  picking  out  the  sack; 
and  little  children  are  more  troubled  than  grown 
people,  because  their  feet  are  more  tender  and 
generally  more  exposed.  *~ 

^  Another  annoyance  is  the  beef  worm,  which 
©omes  from  an  egg  deposited  in  the  flesh  by  a  kind 
of  fly,  and  which  sometimes  grows  to  be  nearly  an 
inch  long,  and  is  much  larger  at  the  bottom  than  at 
the  top.     The  remedy  is  to  put  some  fig  juice  or 


50 

other  mucilage,  on  a  small  piece  of  leaf  tobacco, 
and  stick  it  on  the  place  for  some  half  hour,  to 
deaden  the  worm,  and  then  squeeze  till  the  worm 
pops  out.  It  is  very  hard  to  squeeze  it  out  other- 
wise, and  if  it  is  allowed  to  grow  large  it  is  very 
painful. 

Another  annoyance  is  the  army  ant.  These 
little  insects  are  not  like  the  fire  ants,  stinging  like 
fire,  but  formidable  for  their  prodigious  numbers. 
They  seem  to  have  engineers  among  them,  who  lay 
off  the  track  for  their  march  generally  about  twenty 
feet  wide,  and  within  which  they  keep.  Their 
numbers  are  such  that  they  completely  cover  the 
ground  and  everything  else  in  their  track.  They 
will  pass  through  one  room  and  frequently  there 
will.b.e  none  in  the  other  room,  nor  in  the  other 
corner  of  the  same  room.  They  go  up  on  every- 
thing on  their  track,  all  over  the  top  of  the  house, 
and  among  the  leaves  that  cover  it,  and  then  the 
Bound  is  exactly  like  the  sound  of  snowballing 
on  leaves;  and  every  lizard  and  other  living  thing 
4n  the  roof  hurries  away.  They  go  down  into  every 
rat  hole  and  snake  hole,  and  every  snake  and  rat 
and  mouse  that  is  old  enough  to  escape  dashes  off1. 
The  very  young  ones  ave  stung  to  death.  And  the 
natives  say,  therefore  the  snakes  are  so,:  scarce. 


51 

In  about  four  hours  the  whole  army  has  passed 
by,  and  done  no  harm,  but  has  been  a  great  "terror 
to  the  evil  doers"  that  live  in  holes;  and  has  set  an 
example  of  honesty  that  is  not  often  followed  by 
so  called  Christian  armies. 

There  is  another  hind  of  ant,  very  large  and 
numerous,  that  live  on  leaves,  and  have  large  cities 
under  ground,  the  excavations  from  which  are  piled 
up  into  a  large  mound  overhead,  about  four  feet 
high  and  twenty  feet  across.  The  tracks  to  and 
from  the  mound  are  about  four  inches  wide,  and 
beaten  down  hard  and  smooth;  and  in  the  tracks 
near  the  mound  the  ant  eater  (something  like  the 
raccoon)  makes  a  hole,  and,  as  the  ants  tumble  in, 
helps  himself  with  great  apparent  relish. 

The  spotted  tiger  and  the  brown  tiger  are  seen 
in  the  country,  and  frequently  kill  oxen  and  hog-, 
but  very  rarely  attack  men.  Foxes  sometimes,  and 
opossums  frequently,  destroy  fowls,  if  they  are  not 
properly  secured.  Alligators  are  found  in  all  the 
rivers,  but  rai  ely  do  any  harm. 

Game  is  very  abundant.  Deer,  antelopes,  wild 
hogs,  and  various  other  quadrupeds,  are  frequently 
shot  by  good  hunters.  There  is  a  very  large  bird, 
called  currasOw,.  about  the  size  of  a,  turkey,  that  i3 
equal  to  the  turkey  in  flavor  and  far  more  beauitful, 
and  when  domesticated  is  very  tame,  and  is  at  the 


52 

head  of  the  feathered  tribe.  I  had  a  beautiful  pair 
of  them,  that  I  brought  as  far  as  New  Orleans,  but 
I  was  afraid  I  would  lose  them  if  I  attempted  to 
bring  them  to  Virginia  in  the  winter. 

There are  also  wild  turkeys,  and  some  other  large 
birds;  and  parrots  in  flocks  of  one  hundred  or  more; 
maccaws,  or  parrot  hawk?,  as  some  call  them,  mostly 
red,  but  partly  blue,  and  under  the  body  yellow,  and 
all  three  colors  of  the  very  brightest  hue.  Their 
tails  are  about  two  feet  long,  and  they  are  the  most 
brilliant  birds  I  ever  saw,  but  their  voices  are  as 
harsh  as  their  plumage  is  showy.  They  are  taught 
to  speak  like  parrots,  but  are  not  as  safely  handled. 

The  most  remarkable  animal  I  saw  in  Honduras 
is  the  tapir,  or  mountain  cow.  It  is  about  as  much 
like  a  hog  as  a  cow,  and  weighs,  generally,  about 
four  hundred  pounds,  and  the  meat  is  very  good. 
It  spends  a  good  deal  of  time  in  the  water,  with 
only  its  head  sticking  out.  It  has  a  very  tough 
skin,  and  makes  it  way  through  thorny  bamboo 
thickets  without  regarding  them,  and  goes  down  the 
6teepest  banks  of  the  river.  Its  upper  lip,  like  the 
proboscis  of  the  elephant,  can  be  extended  so  as  t© 
take  hold  of  a  tree,  or  a  dog;  arid  the  hoofs  of  its 
forefeet  n re  very  formidable,  when  it  is  protecting 
its  call      if  it.  iiiids  a  carhp  lire  in  the  woods,  they 


58 

Bay  it  -will  scatter  it  with  its  forefeet  and  put  it  out, 
while  all  the  rest  of  the  animals  are  afraid  of  fire. 

We  frequently  heard  the  cries  of  baboons  near 
our  house,  though  1  did  not  often  see  them.  I  saw 
one  that  the  natives  had  killed  to  eat,  and  they  said 
it  was  very  good;  but  it  looked  too  much  like  a 
child  for  my  use. 

But  I  never  refused  to  eat  the  iguana,  a  very 
large  kind  of  lizard,  living  entirely  on  leaves, 
especially  sweet  potato  leaves,  and  about  four  feet 
long.  Oue  is  equal  to  a  hen  in  quantity  and 
quality. 

Soon  after  reaching  our  homes  we  employed  some 
Indians  to  clear  away  the  bushes  around  the  house, 
and  to  cat  down  the  woods  for  a  cornfield,  and  to 
fix  up  our  houses,  as  several  had  requested  me  to 
do,  and  I  went  down  to  Belize  to  meet  those  whom 
1  expected.  But  I  found  none  of  them.  And  this 
I  did  four  times,  when  I  heard- that  soou  atter  I 
left  JSTew  Orleans  the  army  worm  had  been  more 
destructive  than  ever  before,  and  that  some  large 
fields  did  not  produce  a  single  bale  of  cotton. 
<q  1  planted  a  crop  of  corn,  and  a  very  large  crop 
of  plantains  and -bananas,  so  that  we  should  not  fail 
to  have  enough  to  .supply  all  who.  might  come. 
But  those  who  had  lost  their  cotton  coald  not  come, 
and  no  family  ever  came  but  that  of  my  son-in-law. 


He  got  a  job  of  surveying,  and  divided  his  wages 
with  us,  and  instead  of  sending  the  money  he 
bought  us,  in  Belize,  soap,  cotton  cloth,  powder  and 
shot,  and  such  other  things  as  the  Indians  needed ; 
and  I  took  some  of  the  youngest  children  with  me 
and  went  to  the  Indian  towns  and  sold  these  thing, 
and  traded  for  hogs,  fowls,  and  other  things. 

One  of  these  towns,  where  there  were  as  many 
Africans  as  Indians,  was  about  four  miles  off,  and 
contained  about  forty  houses;  the  next  was  eight 
miles,  with  about  seventy  houses ;  the  next,  ten 
miles,  with  about  thirty  houses ;  and  the  last  on 
that  side  of  us,  two  miles  further,  with  about  twenty 
houses.  These  last  three  were  almost  entirely 
Indians,  speaking  the  Maya  language,  the- principal 
language  of  Central  America,  and  very  few  among 
them  could  speak  Spanish.  On  the  other  side  of 
us,  near  the  border  of  Yucatan,  was  another  town, 
twenty-four  miles  off,  of  about  eighty  houses. 

? "When  ready  for  a  trip,  I  would  take  one  or  two- 
of  the  children,  each  of  us  carrying  a  part  of  the 
goods  in  a  bag  made  of  twine,  like  a  seine,  and 
fastened  to  a  band  two  inches  wide,  which  came  - 
over  the  shoulders  and  was  supported  by  the  .fore- 
head, so  that  the  weight  rested  on  the  backhand 
die  bearer  walked  something  like  the  Grecian  bend 
of  the  ladies.  "*  We  took  with  us  a  pair  of  blankets, 


55 

and  some  coffee  and  provisions,  and  some  matches 
in  a  quinine  bottle,  that  they  should  not  get  wet, 
and  some  shavings  of  fat  pine,  to  start  a  fire 
quickly. 

"When  night  overtook  us  near  some  watercourse, 
we  used,  whatever  shelters  we  found  convenient,  or 
did  without,  according1  to  circumstances ;  and  after 
cooking  and  eating  our  supper  and  kneeling  in 
family  prayers  together,  and  mending  the  fire,  we 
swung  our  hammock  to  trees,  or  lay  down  on  the 
blanket,  and  slept  till  about  day,  when  we  com- 
menced our  preparation  for  the  day's  journey, 
taking  only  a  little  coffee  and  a  little  piece  of  bread 
or  sweet  potato,  until  our  regular  hour  of  breakfast, 
which  was  nine  o'clock. 

Having  sold  what  we  could,  and  traded  for  some 
hogs  and  fowls,  we  would  start  late  in  the  afternoon, 
60  as  not  to  drive  the  hogs  more  than  two  or  three 
miles  before  night,  that  they  might  not  be  too  much 
fatigued.  We  drove  the  hogs  by  tying  one  hind 
foot,  and  using  a  long  switch  very  gently.  At  first 
it  was  very  hard  to  get  them  started  out  of  town 
and  we  had  to  drag  them  around  several  times,  but 
after  we  got  started  they  did  better,  and  the  next 
morning  we  generally  had  but  little  trouble,  unless 
we  came  to  logs  in  the  path  too  large  for  them  to 
jump   over.      When  they  came  to  a  fork  in  the 


56 

narrow  path,  in  the  woods,  we  kept  the  rope  tight, 
and  as  soon  as  we  saw  any  disposition  in  the  hog  to 
take  the  wrong  path  we  held  him  till  he  turned 
his*  head  towards  the  proper  route,  and  then  the 
rope  was  slacked  and  he  went  ahead  right 

It  was  a  very  troublesome  business  at  first,  but 
we  soon  became  trained  to  it,  and  learned  it  very 
well.  The  old  hogs  sometimes  fought,  and  it  was 
dangerous  to  drive  them.  I  took  charge  of  such 
myself,  and  as  I  always  carried  with  me  (as  all  the 
men  in  the  country  do)  a  stout  knife,  or  sword, 
about  thirty  inches  long,  called  a  machete,  I  was 
prepared  to  defend  myself. 

The  mode  of  scalding  the  hog3  so  as  to  get  off 
their  hair,  was  to  wet  one  side  with  water,  and 
holding  a  blazing  bay  leaf  over  the  wet  hair  till  it 
would  slip  easily,  to  scrape  clean  with  knives,  and 
then  to  turn  the  hog  over  and  scrape  the  other  side 
in  the  same  way  %  I  then  assisted  the  children  to 
hang  the  hog  up,  and  they  preferred  to  do  all  the 
rest.  I  did  not  like  the  sight  of  flowing  blood,  and 
the  children  only  asked  me  to  hold  the  hog  till  one 
could  stick  him,  and  then  they  claimed  the  right  tc 
do  all  the  rest,  except  the  hanging  up.  The  bone* 
were  all  cut  out,  and  the  rest  of  the  meat  could 
then  be  preserved  by  salt  and  smoke,  however  warn: 
the  weather.  Mr 


57 

When  we  brought  fowls,  they  were  brought  in 
two-story  baskets,  on  our  backs.  The  loads  we 
carried  were  generally  about  one-third  of  om 
respective  weights,  but  I  have  carried  more  thaD 
half  my  weight — about  twenty-five  fowls,  the  most 
of  them  grown  hens. 

Fowls  are  frequently  carried  in  rolls,  .each  fowl 
rolled  up  in  a  large  leaf,  and  tied  like  a  roll  of 
paper.  .1  once  saw  five  turkeys,  rolled  up  and 
fastened  to  an  upright  board  about  ten  inches  wide, 
heads  reversed,  carried  on  a  man's  back.  1  wished 
then  that  I  was  a  painter  for  a  while,  that  I  might 
sketch  off  that  turkey  ehow. 

In  those  trips  we  were  frequently  caught  in  the 
rain ;  and  one  night  especially,  we  were  without 
shelter  and  it  rained  for  hours,  but  still  the  children 
<  slept  soundly.  As  soon  as  light  appeared,  we 
started  for  home  with  the  hogs,  and  felt  no  injury 
from  our  drenchiDg. 

The  Indians  are  a  very  inoffensive  race.  Thej 
have  no  organization,  except  that  in  each  town  thej 
elect  an  officer  called  the  alcalde,  who  dispenses 
justice  and- checks  disorder.  Generally  they  are 
very  honest.  I  have  known  a  dozen  of  them  1< 
spend  the  night  where  we  had  a  whole  washing  of 
*  clothes  hanging  up,  and  they  did  not  take  a  singL 
piece ;  and  indeed  I  never  knew  an  Indian  to  stea 


58 

my  clothes.  Even  in  the  town  of  Belize,  we  left 
slothes  hanging  all  night  out  of  doors,  exposed  to 
'he  street  (for  we  had  no  enclosure  around  the 
pard),  and  nothing  was  ever  stolen.  They  are  a 
small  and  weak  race  of  people,  but  do  as  much  for 
the  money  paid  them  as  the  generality  of  laborers. 
They  receive  twenty-five  cents  a  day  and  rations, 
ar  $5  a  month  and  rations,  which  consists  of  about 
half  pound  of  pork  and  seven  plantains,  or  an 
equivalent  of  corn,  a  day ;  while  the  Africans,  or 
Creoles  as  they  are  called,  get  $8  or  $9  a  month, 
and  require  flour  for  a  part  of  their  rations. 

sThe  Indians  are  very  expert  in  the  use  of  the 
machete,  which  they  use  for  cutting  grass  and 
bushes,  and  even  small  trees,  using  the  axe  only  for 
large  trees.  They  dig  post-holes  for  building  houses 
with  the  machete,  and  I  saw' two  of  them  dig  a 
grave  with  machetes,  using  turtle  shells  to  thro^ 
Dirt  the  earth.  They  use  no  plow,  nor  hoe,  nor 
spade,  in  working  or  planting  their  crops.  Corn 
land  is  prepared  by  cutting  down  the  bushes  and 
trees  in  the  winter,  and  just  before  the  rainy  season 
•ets  in,  about  June  1st.  Fires  are  kindled  about 
aoon,  when  the  dew  is  all  off,  and  the  wind  quite 
aigh,  over  this  patch  of  leaves  and  bushes,  and  in  a 
few  minutes  the  flames  reach  to  the  tops  of  the 
ii&rrOimaiBg  trees;  and  the  bursting  of  the  sap  from 


the  thick  stems  sounds  like  the  discharges  of  small 
arms  in  battle,  and  can  be  heard  for  miles. 

"When  the  burning  is  o\ or  and  the  'ioals  are  ex- 
tinguished, but  little  is  left,  -escept  ihn  ttumps  and 
the  large  logs;  and  the  Indian  swings  a '•ittle  b?g 
of  reed-corn  at  hie  side,  and  takes  a  conee-iien'; 
pole,  trimmed  like  a  cnisel,  arid  throws  it  into  the 
ground  like  a  javelin,  and  then  stands  it  up  and 
drops  four  or  five  grains  of  corn  under  its  heel,  and 
draws  it  out.  If  the  earth  falls  on  tne  corn,  and 
covers  it  sufficiently,  no  more  is  done;  but  if  neces- 
sary the  corn  is  covered  up  with  the  foot. 

The  rows  of  corn  are  about  five  feet  apart,  and 
we  would  consider  that  it  was  planted  too  thick; 
but  they  prefer  to  have  it  thick,  some  say,  to  prevent 
suckers  from  shooting  up.  The  corn  grows  very 
fast,  and  if  the  bushes  were  chopped  down,  when 
it  is  a  month  old,  it  would  be  an  advantage;  but  it 
is  rareiy  done,  and  generally  there  is  no  cultivation 
whatever,  and  yet  there  is  a  heavy  crop  made. 
When  the  corn  is  nearly  three  months  old,  it  is 
sustomary  to  bend  down  every  stalk,  jusfc  below  the 
ears,  to  prevent  the  corn  from  falling  down  in  the 
wind  and  rain,  as  well  as  to  make.it  more  difficult 
for  the  raccoons  to  get  at  it.  As  soon  as  it  is  hard 
ihe  Indians  carry  it  home  on  their  backs,  and  nse 
tvhat  they  need  for  tibensgslves,  ard  feed  the  rest  -to 


their  hogs  and  fowls,  which  are  the  only  things  that 
bring  them  money. 

■  After  the  first  crcp  is  <  alien  from  the  land,  it  is 
mnch  more  difficult  to  clean  it  up  for  another  year's 
crop  than  it  is  to  clear  the  same  quantity  of  land 
by  burmng,  and  2  -lew  cornfield  is  made  the  next 
year,  and  the  same  field  is  not  used  again  until 
there  is  enough  vegetation  on  it  to  make  a  good 
burning.  Yams,  sweet  potatoes,  cymblins,  and 
pumpkins,  are  planted  in  the  cornfield,  and  yield 
abundantly. 

The  cahoon  palm  is  a  great  tree.  Its  leaves  some- 
times reach  the  enormous  length  of  forty- five  or 
fifty  teet,  and  are  nearly  ten  feet  wide,  and  one  of 
them  is  nearly  as  much  as  a  man  can  lift.  The 
stems  are  larger  than  a  man's  leg,  and  are  used  for 
making  fences  to  keep  out  oxen,  as  well  as  for 
walling-in  houses.  The  tree  bears  annually  about 
three  bunches  of  nuts,  nearly  a  barrel  on  each  bush, 
and  the  nuts  are  about  the  size  of  a  hen's  egg,  and 
requiring  an  axe  to  grind  them.  The  kernel  is 
about  one  inch  and  a  half  in  length,  of  an  oval 
shape,  and  tastes  almost  exactly  like  cocoanut,  onlj 
it  is  tougher  and  drier.  It  makes  a  very  fine  oiL 
nearly  equal  to  olive  oil. 

The  India  rubber  tree  is  very  beautiful ;  witl 
lafge,  round  leaves.      When  the  bark  is  cut,  fih< 


r 


■ 

.;';.>    '■. 


61 

juice  spurta"  out  as  white  as  milk,  but  soon  turns 
black.  It  is  collected  from  the  tree  while  standing, 
but  frequently  the  tree  is  cut  down,  and  ail  the 
juice  is  collected  in  a  few  days,  from  the  different 
cuts  made  along  the  body.  The  juice  is  then  poured 
into  a  trough,  and  a  strong  solution  of  alum  mixed 
with  it,  to  curdle  it,  and  the  next  day  it  is  poured. 
on  boards,  slightly  inclined,  that  the  whey  may  run 
off.  The  curd  is  then  beaten,  and  trampled,  and 
formed  into  large  cakes,  and  dried  on  a  scaffold  for 
several  days,  until  quite  hard,  when  it  is  ready  for 
market. 

There  is  not  much  of  it  in  the  region  where  I 
was,  but  it  is  found  in  great  abundance  farther 
south,  on  the  coast  of  the  Spanish  Honduras,  and 
still  farther  south  to  the  river  Amazon.  The  trade 
in  India  rubber  turns  out  as  much  money,  and  as 
much  sickness  and  death,  as  any  trade  I  have 
heard  o£ 

The  mahogany  business  was  formerly  very  exten- 
sive on  the  Belize  river ;  but  nearly  all  the  works 
there  have  been  abandoned,  as  also  to  a  great  extent 
in  other  parts  of- the  colony,  and  sugar-making  is 
taking  the  place  of  it.  There  are  several  reasons 
«nr  this*.  It  is  much  more  expensive  to  get  the 
»«maiuing  mahogany,  which  is  distant  from  the 
iiTers,  than  it  was  to  get  that  which  was  near  the 


water ;  and  there  are  places  in  Mexico  and  Spanish 
Honduras  where  it  is  much  more  accessible  than  in 
British  Honduras ;  and  then  the  price  of  it  is  much 
less  than  formerly. 

Cabinet-makers  have  substituted  other  kinds  of 
wood  in  its  place  to  a  great  extent ;  and  the  British 
government,  which  formerly  used  it  very  extensively 
for  boarding  u,p  its  ships  of  war,  because  it  does  not 
splinter  as  other  kinds  of  wood  and  kill  men  when 
balls  are  shot  through  it,  has  a  great  deal  of  it  on 
hand,  and  has  no  use  for  it  in  iron  ships,  which  are 
now  the  fashion. 

It  was  a  great  business  once,  and  employed  a  very 
great  capital,  and  thousands  of  laborers.  -At  all 
suitable  places  on  the  rivers,  where  the  banks  were 
high,  houses  were  hv  ilt,  a  large  ox  pen  was  con- 
structed, and  all  around  the  houses  a  large  clearing 
was  made  for  pasturage.  Wide,  good  roads  were 
made,  and  very  powerful  trucks,  with  solid  wooden 
wheels,  about  two  and  a  half  feet  in  diameter  and 
nearly  a  foot  thick,  were  furnished  with  seven  pairs 
of  large  oxen  to  each  truck. 
-  Large  quantities  of  fat  pine  wcsd  were  collected 
for  torches,  as  it  was  too  hot  for  ."the i  oxen  to  haul  in 
the  heat  of  the  day.  The  hunters,  found  the  trees, 
and  the  -cutters.. opened.- the  way  for  the  trucks ;  thb 
*rse&  wer&^ent  dowii  and  squared,  some  of  them 


. .  -   .  ' 


63 

four  or  five  feet  square;'  and,  as  suon  as  the  dry 
weather  had  hardened  the  roads,  all  was  excite- 
ment. The  grass  cutters,  two  to  each  team,  climbed 
the  bread-nut  trees,  and  broke  off  the  twigs,  full  of 
very  thick  mucilaginous  leaves,  and  sometimes 
gathered  one  hundred  and  fifty  bundles  of  thii 
superior  fodder  from  a  single  tree,  and  brought 
them  generally  in  boats  up  or  down  the  river.  The 
oxen  devoured  their  fodder,  which  is  sufficient  to 
keep  horses  or  oxen  fat  while  at  work  without  any- 
thing else.  The  oxen,  preceded  by  the  torch- 
bearers,  hauled  the  great  timbers  to  the  bank,  to  be 
tumbled  into  the  river  for  passage  to  Belize  by  the 
/  next  flood.  The  experienced  captains  and  their 
associates  kept  everything  busy  among  the  seventy 
men  who  composed  the  gang,  until  the  first  heavy 
rain  wound  up  the  hauling  business  for  the  year  by 
:,    turning  the  roads  into  mud. 

Each  log  was  branded,  and  when  the  flood  carried 
them  down  the  river  they  were  caught  by  an  enor- 
mous chain  stretched  across  the  river,  twenty  miles 
'■■.,'     above  Belize,  which  is  about  the  head  of  tide  water, 
and  when  they  were  let  through  this  boom,  as  it  is 
t>  called,  they  were  rafted  together,  ano!  floated  down 

to  Belize,  where  they  were  drawn  up  on  the  yards 
and  nicely  hewn  over,  and  then  floated  to  the  ship 
and  stored  in  the  hold,  all  the  vacant  places  being 


64 

filled  up  with  cocoanuts  in  the  husk.*  Very  large 
profits  were  formerly  made  by  this  trade,  but  very 
little  is  made  now.  r 

&  Logwood  and  fustic,  for  dyeing  purposes,  are  ale© 
exported,  and  I  think  a  factory  for  preparing  extract 
Df  logwood  would  be  one  of  the  most  profitable  in- 
vestments that  could  be  made  in  the  colony.      ' 

Cocoanuts  are  raised  on  the  sandy  beaches,  all 
along  the  coast,  and  about  two  hundred  nuts  are 
obtained  annually  from  each  tree.  You  see  them 
of  all  sizes  on  the  trees  at  the  same  time,  from  the 
bloom  to  the  fu.il  grown  nut,  and  they  fall  when 
they  are  ripe.  They  are  used  for  feeding  hogs  and 
Cowls,  and  for  making  oil,  as  well  as  for  eating. 

As  no  settlers  came  to  our  neighborhood,  and  the 
surveying  had  ceased,  our  circumstances  became 
9-ery  straitened,  and  we  suffered  much  for  want  of 
men  fare  as  was  required,  especially  for  want  of 
flour  and  butcher's  meat.  We  had  not  the  means 
to  buy  a  cow,  and  we  had  to  live  mostly  on  hog 
meat  and  corn  bread,  and'  the  vegetables  and  fruits 
of  the  country.  But  we  needed  variety  of  food,  and 
we  could  not  have  our  health  and  strength,  for  want 
of  suitable  diet.  We  had  chilis  and  fevers,  and 
frequently  we  had  no  quinine  or  other  medicines. 
But  I  am>satisfied  that  our  sickness  was  owing 
much  more  to  the  diet  and  ^exposure  and  fatigue, 


_  ■   ;~ _  _ 


65 

than  to  the  climate,  and  that  if  we  had  had  tho 
means  and  suitable  society  we  should  have  been 
healthy  and  happy,  and  in  five  years,  when  coffee 
trees  were  bearing,  we  should  have  been  vory 
prosperous.  ■-.•"-- 

But  after  having  been  two  years  in  the  wilder- 
ness, fifty  miles  from  the  nearest  white  family,  with 
no  prospect  of  society,  I  began  to  think  about  trying 
to  return  to  Virginia.  My  brother  had  written  to 
me  from  Richmond,  urging  me  to  return,  and 
quoting  some  kind  messages  of  my  friends;  and  I 
wrote  to  him  that  if  I  could  get  the  means  I  should 
like  to  return  and  enter  the  Conference,  at  its 
pession  in  Richmond,  November  10th,  1S69. 

After  writing  this  letter,  I  reviewed  our  life  in 
Honduras,  with  feelings  of  lively  gratitude  for  the 
deliverancies  from  danger,  and  especially  for  the 
preservation  of  our  little  son,  when  he  was  lost  and 
spent  the  night  in  the  thick  forest,  and  again  when 
he  was  washed  out  of  a  boat  in  the  river,  by  the 
violence  of  the  current,  which  washed  the ;  boat 
under  water,  and  under  some  limb3  and  logs  that 
held  it  out  of  sight,  so  firmly  that  about  ten  Indians 
were  required  to  get  it  out,  and  kept  under  till  hft 
was  nearly  drowucd.  We  had  not  as  much  as  ft 
dollar  to  pay  our  way  down  to  Belize,  and  the  boat- 
man chatged  us  $15,  but  consented  to  take  ou*  old 


66 

chairs,  tables,  and  8ome  other  things  for  mir  fiiro 
1  concluded- to  go  to  Belize,  and  trust  to  tho  Provi- 
dence of  God  for  our'  return  to  Virginia.  '.When 
we  got  to  Belize,  a  kind  gentleman  loaned  ue  the 
use  of  a  new  house,  which  was  very  convenient ; 
and  I  sold  a  piece  of  India  rubber  belt  and  a  few 
fowls,  and  got  a  few  dollars  to  keep  house  on. 

But  no  letter  had  come  trom  Richmond,  because 
the  steamer  Trade-  Wind  had  been  lost  in  tho  Gulf, 
with  all  ttie  mails,  soon  after  leaving  New  Orleans; 
and  we  had  to  wait  about  six  weeks,  till  a  new 
6teamer  was  put  on  tho  line;  and  on  the  1  lth  of 
November  I  received  a  letter, in  which  a  kind  friend 
authorized  me  to  draw  on  him  in  Richmond  for 
$100,  to  pay  my  way  to  Richmond,  while  my  family 
conld  remain  in  Belize,  two  thousand  miles  off,  till 
I  could  get  assistance  to  send  for  them.  By  return 
steamer  I  came  to  New  Orleans,  and  sent  my  family 
a  little  money,  but  a  kind  merchant  in  Belize  learn- 
ing how  little  it  Was,  gave  them  fifty  dollars  in 
silver,  which  is  the  currency  of  the  country.  As 
soon  as  I  g^t  to  Wythe ville,  in  Virginia,  I  found 
the  stationed  preacher,  whom  1  had  baptized  in  his 
infancy,  thirty  years  ago,  and  spent  a  very  pleasant 
time  with  him  and  the  brethren,  and  I  preachud  at 
night  and  received  material  aid  very  liberally.      - 


67 

In  Lynchburg,  Richmond,  Petersburg,  Norfolk, 
Portsmouth  and  Suffolk  I  met  many  old  acquaint- 
ances and  friends,  who  kindly  helped  me,'60  that  I 
Bent  on  the  means  to  pay  the  fare  of  my  family 
from  Belize  to  New  Orleans,  where  they  kept  house 
as  economically  as  possible  at  a  place  I  had  provided 
for  them. 

But  then  it  was  necessary  to  provide  for  their 
living  in  New  Orleans,  and  to  procuro  their  thick 
winter  clothing,  without  which  it  would  be  danger- 
ous to  come  to  Yirginia  in  tho  winter,  after  so  long 
a  residence  in  a  hot  climate;  and  the  fare  by. 
6teamer  from  New  Orleans  to  Baltimore,  tho 
cheapest  and  most  pleasant  route,  was  another 
considerable  item.  I  went  to  Baltimore  to  see 
about  the  matter,  and'  there  and  in  Alexandria 
received  some  help;  and  then  I  went  to  Mecklen- 
burg, Virginia,  among  my  old  friends,  to  whom  .1 
preached  in  '3S  and  '39,  and"  where,  but  for  their 
poverty,  I  could  hnve  obtained  all  1  needed  in  a 
low  days. 

The  agent  of  the. steamer  in  New  Orleans  was  so 
kind  as  to  wait  for  the  faro  till  I  should  be  able 
to  send  it ;  and  my  family,  escorted  by  an  American 
friend,  came  on  the  steamship  Cuba,  in  February; 
and  I  met  them  in  Baltimore  and  took  them  to 
Charlottesville,  to    the    house  of  a  friend,   whose 


(8 

kindness  has  furnished  more  than  half  the  expense 
of  our  return  to  Virginia ;  and  may  this  friend,  and 
the  other  who  paid  my  passage,  and  all  others  who 
have  helped  us,  be   abundantly  rewarded  by  the 
Father  ot  mercies.  ......' 

After  nearly  two  weeks  spent  in  the  very  pleasant 
family  of  our  friend,  we  came  to  Petersburg,  whero 
we  thought  it  best  to  live  on  account  of  the  schools 
for  the  children  and  the  cheapness  of  house  rent 
After  a  search  of  some  days  1  found  a  suitable 
house  and  rented  it ;  but  we  had  no  furniture,  and 
only  three  dollars  to  start  on.  But  the  kindness 
of  friends  again  appeared,  for  one  loaned  us  a  bed  ; 
and  another,  a  bedstead  ;  and  another,  another  bed ; 
and  another,  a  bedstead  ;  another,  chairs ;  another, 
tables;  another  gave  us  a  cooking  6to/e;  another 
a  load  of  wood  ; — so  we  commenced  housekeeping, 
and  before  the  three  dollars  had  quite  gone,  a  friend 
whom  I  had  not  seen  for  thirty  years  came  to  see 
us,  and  gave  me  $o  in  gold.  Before  my  family 
arrived  I  had  tried  to  get  some  ministerial  work, 
and  had  made  enquiries  in  four  presiding  elders' 
districts,  but  1  could  hear  of  none ;  and  my  friends 
Hummer  and  Laurens,  general  agents  of  the  St. 
Louis*  Mutual  Life  Insurance  Co.,  had  given^me 
work  with  them,  and  promised  me  some  assistance 
in  advance.      Belore  I  had  used  this  last  $5,  this 


69 

help  came;  and  I  started  on  a  trip  to  Gatesville, 
Edenton,  Elizabeth  City  and  other  places,  where  the 
people  were  generally  too  hard  run  to  insure  their 
lives,  until  the  next  crop  shall  come  in.  As  soon 
as  I  discovered  this,  I  determined  to  operate  as  an 
evangelist  or  missionary,  preaching  among  my 
friends  as  much  as  my  circumstances  will  allow, 
and  depending  upon  their  help,  until  I  can  find 
some  ministerial  work  that  will  be  suitable  to  my 
condition.  When  that  will  be  I  cannot  now  see. 
I  am  in  debt  for  advances  I  have  received  from 
several  friends ,-  for  some  house  rent,  and  several 
months'  schooling  of  my  children.  I  have  no 
furniture  worth  naming  ;  our  supply  of  clothing  is 
very  limited,  and  what  I  wear  is  not  worth  giving 
away,  having  done  good  service  before  it  was  given 
to  me.  I  have  no  horse,  no  watch,  nor  even  the 
means  of  moving  our  things  to  another  part  of  the 
town,  much  less  to  a  circuit.  But  on  the  other 
hand,  we  have  reason  to  be  thankful  to  our 
Heavenly  Father,  that  we-  have  had  a  iull  average 
of  the  world's  comforts,  and  no  deaths,  and  but  a 
little  sickness  in  my  immediate  family,  for  twenty 
years ;  and  considering  the  benefits  of  our  observa- 
tions and  experiences  in  foreign  lands,  especially  to 
the  children,  we  do  not  regret  our  course  for  the 
last  four  years.      1  have  never  had  a  thought  of 


regret  all  this  time.  I  have  prayerfully  tried  to 
find  out  what  was  my  duty.  1  preached  wherever 
I  could,  in  Belize  as  well  as  Mexico;  I  distributed 
tracts,  where  I  could  find  men  who  could  read 
them,  and  exhorted  them  to  serve  their  God,  and  to 
meet  me  in  Heaven,  which  some  of  them,  with 
tears,  promised  me  they  would  do. 

The  most  pleasing  employment  I  could  have  on 
earth,  would  bo  laboring  on  a  circuit  with  twenty- 
four  appointments  in  four  weeks,  as  Mecklenburg 
circuit  was  in  1838,- and  seeing  such  times  as  we 
had  that  year. 

In  conclusion,  T  earnestly  pray  that  the  wiiter 
of  this  little  book,  and  all  its  readers,  may  so  live 
that  we  all  may  have  "an  abundant  entrance  ad- 
ministered unto  us  into  the  even asting  kingdo'm  of 
our  Lord  and  Saviour  Jesus  Christ.     Amen." 


This  book  is  due  at  the  WALTER  R.  DAVIS  LIBRARY  on 
the  last  date  stamped  under  "Date  Due."  If  not  on  hold,  it  may 
be  renewed  by  bringing  it  to  the  library. 


DATE 
DUE 


HQVfr*  20Jif 


Form  No  513. 
Rev.  1/84 


DATE 
DUE 


